Not sure what it is but it is NOT poison ivy!

Here is a link that might be useful: poison ivy

Thank you adidas. That link was helpful. I do have some of those very typical poison ivy in my backyard as well. Wanted to make sure this is not some sort of cousin of PI.

You're welcome! Come to think of it...what you have there (I think) is wild strawberry :)!

Here is a link that might be useful: wild strawberry

I can't tell the difference from the photo, but it could be mock strawberry, Duchesnea indica, which is invasive. Wild strawberry has white flowers; mock strawberry flowers are yellow. Barren strawberry (Waldsteinia ternata) also has yellow flowers and is native, but the leaves aren't as pointy at the tips.

Floral uk,

What are the clues that lead you to rubus? I would like to learn.

Thanks.

Interesting. My property is overrun by Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry) and I would never have guessed Rubus because these canes don't have the smooth stems of the plant in the pic. Even when very small, the stems are hairy. Do other Rubus sp have such smooth stems?

I find it hard to explain how I know what plants are. I don't see 'clues' - I just see a clear Rubus species. I have no botanical training - I've just been looking at plants for an awful long time. So I can't describe the features. It's like asking how I can tell my children apart when they share the same physical characteristics - two arms, two legs, etc.

However... the pictured plant has obvious stems with leaves coming off them and a pointed terminal bud. Strawberries and mock strawberries have basal rosettes, not long stems. The individual leaflets in the photo are a different shape and texture too.

And yes, adidas, many Rubus have smooth canes, others have thorns, others have hairs. Rubus covers all the blackberries and raspberries and many other berries e.g wineberries, cloud berries , logan berries etc.

I didn't even notice the stems. So the strawberries and mock strawberries will have long runners, but at the end of each runner is another rosette rather than one leaf.
Thanks!

That could very easily be poison ivy or poison oak. It has the smooth ivy stems, the alternate leaf pattern and leaves with three leaflets and the leaflets can be toothed in a variety of ways. Poison ivy is also highly variable. I can't say for sure, but I also will not rule it out. It definitely resembles some of the pictures of poison ivy I have seen. Look it up in Wikipedia for some of them.

Not wild strawberry or any rosette growing plant, and seems to have too smooth a stem for a Rubus, it should be more upright to be a Manitoba maple seedling (box elder). It could be a young Virginia Creeper that still hasn't developed 5 leaves.

Better a bit too careful than a bit too careless, especially with poison ivy.
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The characteristics are subtle but it looks like Rubus to me as well. If you compare the leaves of Rubus occidentalis to the images in the OP the resemblance is uncanny. Poison ivy is variable but wouldn't have teeth like that. The pattern of the veins and the shape of the lateral leaflets is also consistent with Rubus. It wouldn't be that unusual for such a young specimen to lack obvious prickles though they might be present and not evident in the image.

It looks like a dewberry.

And if I'm not mistaken, the various members of Rubus like to wink at each other when in sufficiently close proximity, and you know...interbreed. Adds to the potential for ID'ing confusion.

+oM

Easy answer: if you don't want it where it is, treat it as if it MAY BE Poison Ivy, and remove it. Gloves, long sleeves, Tecnu scrub afterwards, etc., just in case. If it's simple dewberry or another rubus (which it likely is), then it's overkill. But wouldn't you rather be safe? :)

not poison ivy. raspberry perhaps? does it have thorns. I know my poison ivy and I can guarantee thats not it.

Not needed by the original poster, edger99, but for anyone who comes across this thread in a web search, FloralUK is 100% correct that this a Rubus (blackberry, dewberry, etc.) of some type, not poison ivy.

No, thats not poison ivy.

The two side leafs will be mirror images of each other, the middle leaf will have one edge profile from each leaf. Most likely a mitten shape on the two sides, the middle will have "thumbs" on both sides.

NEVER PULL UP POISON IVY until you are sure its all dead!! NEVER BURN DEAD OR LIVE POISON IVY! You can still get poison ivy from a dead plant, but being dead makes it easier to find and pull the roots. Place full strength bleach on roots and any shoots attached to ground or brick. Soak leaves in poison ivy. In a day or two it will be dead, you can then use disposable gloves to pull it, place it in thick garbage bag - put in garbage. Remember, your garbage men don't want to catch pioson ivy either, and the unseen oils spread it like crazy. Be careful of what you touch with gloved hands, dead poison ivy can still give you a rash years later. Never ever burn poison ivy. Use cold water, dawn detergent and a washcloth to throughly wash hands, arms, etc. Wash clothes, wipe boots top and bottom and any tools you may have used. If you get it early you won't wind up with a huge tangle of woody vines- even a bird that lands on it and then lands on a handrail will spread it. Any pets can spread it! Be vigilant! Spot it early, kill it then dispose of carefully!