I thought I was a pro at identifying poison ivy, but these little clumps had me a bit stumped. I've heard it can grow like a vine, but I have never before seen that and thought is was maybe a southern U.S. type thing. These dense little clusters definitely were a vine, and more curiously, the vines had little thorns! Could this be anything else? This was on the sandy beach at the north end of Nina Moose last week.

No doubt in my opinion - poison ivy. I see it vining up trees, and into shrubs a lot.

Leaf shape and shine says PI

I would stay away from anything that vaguely resembles poison ivy.

Blackberries.

If it had thorns, as you say, then Goatroti is likely correct: a Rubus species. No thorns on PI... it has other ways to get you.

goatroti: "Blackberries.
"

Poison ivy has smooth edge leaves... These are serrated. Changing my point to blackberries as well.

goatroti: "Blackberries"

Learn something new every day, or at least on the good days!
Poison ivy v. blackberries

with thorns-not Poison Ivy. Rubus species- blackberry or raspberry. Not a vine, but a spawling cane.

There were definitely little spikes thorns on the vines. Wish I had gotten a better close up photo of that. If anyone wants to see a little more detail, here's a 45 second video of me poking around the plants.

After staring at that for a while, I wonder if you don't have two different trifoliate things growing near to each other... The second pic sure looks like PI.

Dewberry. Which is a type of blackberry.

Yeah, after staring at the video and the pics again, I agree with Inspector13. Probably all Rubus, and Rubus flagellaris (dewberry group) is likely. PI can have some teeth (or not, variable), but generally coarser teeth and not real regular.

Plenty of poison ivy on the island campsite in Snow Bay! Got me good, because it did not look like our vining PI here in AR.

Bruce

bobbernumber3: "

goatroti: "Blackberries.
"

Poison ivy has smooth edge leaves... These are serrated. Changing my point to blackberries as well."

I’m not saying it’s not blackberries or dewberries, but I found this online so it must be true.
“Some poison ivy has jagged leaves, but not always.”

Paging botany guy to the phone...

goatroti: "Blackberries.
"

Close but not blackberries.

It is a dewberry plant.

If it were just about the shape of the leaf I'd be pretty uncertain, but right now based on the presence of thorns I'm rather convinced its NOT P.I. I'd still be interested in learning more about how to tell blackberry from dewberry in the absence of berries. Sorry I did not get better close ups, but in the moment I was sure it was P.I.

Before my trip last week I read some of the campsite reviews for Nina Moose Lake, and most all of them cite the presence of poison ivy. Now I'm wondering if maybe none of them have poison ivy - just dewberries and/or blackberries?

rtallent: "After staring at that for a while, I wonder if you don't have two different trifoliate things growing near to each other... The second pic sure looks like PI. "

I have never found poison ivy growing amongst blackberry plants. Just an observation unsupported by Google - The Conversation Ender.

Blackberry

Dew berries grow close to the ground a foot or so above it.

Black berries can be 4 to 5 feet high. I have seen some over 6 feet makes for interesting picking.

Dew berries are rounder Black berries are more oblong.

If it has thorns it is not poison ivy.

So the overall opinion of the group is that this is NOT POISON IVY as proven by the presence of thorns. Its a Rubus, with opinions split fairly evenly between Dewberry and Blackberry - either way, the plant is not only non-toxic, it actually produces edible berries.

And to think I almost didn't post this for fear of being ridiculed for not being able to spot poison ivy. What a great lesson in plant identification. Thanks everyone.

I was about to say that for me the distinguishing characteristic of poison ivy is DROOPING leaves, but then I found this online:

"You’ve likely heard of the saying “leaves of three, let it be,” and that’s certainly helpful when it comes to spotting poison ivy: The plant, indeed, is characterized by a triumvirate of leaves that start out red in the spring, turn green in the summer, and then yellow, orange, or red in the fall. Trouble is, it’s not the only plant that’s three-leafed. Boxelder, young Virginia creepers, and, yes, strawberries, all have three leaves per stem and are often mistaken for poison ivy.

"To complicate matters, ***there are dozens of poison ivy species.*** Some have tiny leaves, others large. Some grow as ground cover, others as low shrubs, and still others as climbing vines. ***Leaves can be toothed or smooth. And they may or may not have a glossy appearance.***"

That defeats some common beliefs about poison ivy.

Pinetree: "If it has thorns it is not poison ivy."

Absolutely true.

I'm cautious around leaves of 3 but after trying to avoid the ones I come across I say screw it and just hope for the best. Have never had it yet so hopefully that continues.