Essay - Introduction Anyone Who Has Ever Been Unfortunate Enough to Find...

Introduction

Anyone who has ever been unfortunate enough to find himself or herself covered with the oozing, itchy, misery-inducing rash that comes from touching a member of the poison oak family would have no doubts at all that eradicating ***** plant is a fine idea indeed.

This paper examines various methods of poison-***** eradication as well as the reasons that controlling this plant may prove to be necessary or advisable. Among the methods ***** are discussed for ***** are controlled burning, mechanical control (such as mowing it), herbicide use and biocontrol - usually in the form ***** hungry goats!

***** beginning a consider*****tion of the ways in which poison oak can be eradicated it will be useful ***** provide a brief overview ***** the pl*****nt itself.

Although it ***** surprise many people who have far*****from-favorable experiences with poison oak, it is actually a ***** of the same genus of plants as the cashew - a far friendlier relative. Along w*****h the closely related ***** ivy and poison sumac, poison oak produces an allergic reaction in m*****y people that tends to become worse with repeated exposures ***** the plant.

In fact, although poison oak, poison ivy ***** poison ***** are popularly considered to be separate *****, their scientific classification is a little more complex. While some scientists group poison ivy *****nd ***** oak together as varieties of a single species, other categorize them as ***** species because ***** the significant differences in ***** leaves. In general, poison oak and ***** ivy are considered to be variants of Toxicodendron radicans. Sometimes poison oak is classified as Toxicodendron diversilobum *****ile poison sumac is identified as a separate species -Toxicodendron vernix.

Both poison oak ***** poison ivy - whether two varieties or two species ***** are woody, perennial *****s found throughout large sections ***** the United States and Canada, often growing ********** roads ***** in open fields. Sometimes the plants can be ***** in vine ***** (either trailing on the ground or supported by trees) but are most often found in the form of shrubs.

***** leaves ***** ***** ***** and poison ivy - ***** any child who has ever gone camping will tell you - include regular groupings of three leaflets. The ***** are also marked by clusters ***** small, pale yellow or white ********** each summer and fall. Beyond these characteristics, there is substantial variation (partially seasonal) as to size, color and shininess of leaf surface.

The leaves ***** poison ivy are red in early spring. Later in spr*****g, they change to shiny green. They turn red or *****ange in autumn. Each leaf is made up of three leaflets ***** or less notched at the edges. Two of the leaflets form a p*****ir on opposite sides of the leafstalk, while ***** third stands by itself at the tip of the leafstalk. Small **********h flowers grow in bunches ********** ***** ***** ma***** stem close to where each leaf joins it. Later in the seas*****, clusters of **********, berrylike drupes form. They are whitish,