Poisonous Plants

She comes on like a rose but everybody knows
She'll get you in Dutch
You can look but you better not touch

Poison iv-y-y-y-y, poison iv-y-y-y-y
Late at night while you're sleepin' poison ivy comes a'creepin'
Arou-ou-ou-ou-ou-ound

The Coasters, Poison Ivy (Leiber & Stoller, 1959)

  Internet Archive

The 1950’s were a more innocent time than today. In their 1959 hit Poison Ivy, The Coasters weren’t singing about poison ivy, the plant, but about another kind of poison, which wasn’t discussed much in public then. Today, however, we’ll stick with the plant and other plants used for beautification in and around Florida homes that are irritating if they come in contact with the skin, like poison ivy, and others that are toxic if eaten.

Poison Ivy

Poison ivy grows throughout most of North America, and is normally found in wooded areas. The plant is extremely common in suburban and exurban areas of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and southeastern United States. It is not particularly sensitive to soil moisture, although it does not grow in desert or arid conditions. It grows in a wide variety of soil types. Poison ivy is dioecious; flowering occurs from May to July. The yellowish- or greenish-white flowers are typically inconspicuous and are located in clusters up to 8 cm (3.1 in) above the leaves. The berry-like fruit, a drupe, is mature by August to November with a grayish-white color.