Welcome to another "Ranger Minute" from Redwood National and State Parks.
My name is Ranger Steve.
I'm standing here at the lovely Klamath River Overlook
and today I'd like to help you
"Respect Leaves of Three, and Stay Itch Free."
I am of course talking about poison oak.
Poison oak, like its eastern counterpart,
poison ivy, contains a volatile plant resin called urushiol.
It can cause a severe allergic reaction in up to 85% of the human population.
Now the best way in avoiding a negative encounter with this California native is to empower
yourself with the knowledge of what it looks like and where it likes to grow.
A vine in the shade, a shrub in the sun, with lobed leaves of three, run Ranger Steve, run!
I am really allergic to poison oak, but with the proper identification, I can avoid it at
all costs. Now you may be familiar with the phrase, "Leaves
of three, let them be." Now that's good advice, but here at Redwood
we have quite a few plants that have three leaves.
There's western trillium, Columbia windflower, salmonberry, and California blackberry to
name just a few. So, along our overlooks, you will often find
blackberry and poison oak growing side by side.
This is California blackberry. Notice the toothed leaf margins.
This is poison oak, and I'm going to try not to get too close.
What if you don't know if you've come in come in contact with poison oak.
What do you do? Well, if that's the case you will want to
wash your hands, the afflicted areas with cold water and soap.
If it's come onto your clothes, you're going to want to send them through the laundry too,
especially your shoes. You'll want to make sure that everything's
clean, because urushiol oil can last for months, and then you can get reinfected with it without
even knowing it. So whether you are here to inhale the breathtaking
scenery at the Klamath River Overlook or the Crescent Beach Overlook, south of Crescent
City, be forewarned. It's not the only place you'll find poison
oak. Here in the oak woodland prairies of the Bald
Hills, you will want to pay extra careful attention, because poison oak often resembles
real oak. This is poison oak. This is Oregon white oak.
I am now standing in filtered sunlight here at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
Here, instead of a low shrub, poison oak acts as a vine climbing up redwoods in search of
more light.
Despite its infamous reputation,
poison oak is a diverse and adaptable plant, and believe it or not, it plays an important role in the
native ecosystem. It provides food and shelter for a variety
of animals, including birds, elk, and deer. Not only that!
It's one of the few plants here on the West Coast that provides us with beautiful reds
during the fall. Now equipped with the knowledge of poison
oak's tale, you can feel confident about hiking all of our trails.
You heard from Ranger Steve, in the land of tall trees.
Respect leaves of three, and stay itch-free! This has been another "Ranger Minute" from Redwood
National and State Parks. Happy trails!