The leaf margins may be toothless or saw-toothed and variously lobed. Each leaflet has a pointed tip. These panicles can be curved upward or be drooping. The fruit is a roundish berry that is small, hard, whitish to gray colored and is visible throughout the winter. The outer tissue of the fruit is thin and dry and breaks readily to expose a fibrous interior.
Male plants produce no berries.
Still other plants produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. Poison ivy grows in thickets, open woods, sandy or rocky places, and along fence rows. It is abundant from Quebec to the Great Lakes Region south to Texas, and Florida. Poison ivy is also found in the West. Plants in this family contain dermatitis-producing phenols.