Plant safety, made stupid simple.
Is It Poison Ivy? is a free, no-signup tool that tells you whether the plant in front of you is poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac — or something harmless. One photo, one clear answer. That's the whole product.
No accounts
No login, no tracking pixels in the result, no stored photos.
Editorially reviewed
Every article is checked against authoritative sources before publishing.
Built for the trail
Mobile-first, designed to work fast on a phone with one bar of signal.
Why we built this
Every year, an estimated 50 million Americans react to urushiol — the oily resin in poison ivy, oak, and sumac. Most of those exposures are preventable with thirty seconds of plant ID before someone reaches toward a vine or pushes through brush. The problem is that "leaves of three, let it be" isn't enough: Virginia creeper has five leaves and is harmless, boxelder seedlings have three leaves and aren't poisonous, and poison sumac doesn't follow the three-leaf rule at all.
Is It Poison Ivy? exists to give hikers, parents, gardeners, dog walkers, and trail crews a fast second opinion before they touch a plant — not after.
How the identifier works
When you upload a photo, it's sent to a vision AI model that's been prompted to look specifically for the leaf shape, vein pattern, leaflet count, growth habit, stem color, and berry characteristics that distinguish urushiol-bearing plants from their look-alikes. The model returns one of four verdicts: DANGER, SAFE, UNCLEAR, or NOT A PLANT, along with a confidence level and the visual reasoning behind the call.
Photos are not stored after analysis and are never associated with a user account, because there are no user accounts. See our Privacy Policy for full detail.
Editorial team
Is It Poison Ivy?'s guides are written and reviewed by a small editorial team with backgrounds in field botany, wilderness first response, and outdoor recreation publishing. Every article is fact-checked against peer-reviewed sources and updated as new range or treatment guidance emerges.
A rotating group of writers with field experience across the Eastern Woodlands, Pacific Northwest, and Southeastern wetlands — the three regions where urushiol-bearing plants are most aggressive.
Treatment and first-aid sections are reviewed by a wilderness-medicine-trained editor to ensure guidance aligns with current Red Cross and AAD recommendations.
Our sources
We rely on guidance from the American Academy of Dermatology, the United States Department of Agriculture PLANTS database, the FDA's consumer guidance on poison ivy/oak/sumac, the Centers for Disease Control's NIOSH worker safety topic on poisonous plants, and the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Where regional ranges are cited, we use USDA hardiness data and state extension service publications.
Important limits
Is It Poison Ivy? is an aid, not a diagnosis. AI plant identification is wrong sometimes — especially on partial leaves, blurry photos, dormant winter vines, or unusual cultivars. When in doubt, do not touch the plant. For medical concerns after suspected exposure, contact a healthcare provider or Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Full terms are on our Disclaimer page.
Get in touch
Spotted a misidentification, want to suggest an article, or have a press question? We read every email.
hello@handprintcreative.co