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Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, vine can look like poison ivy. The younger leaves can come in groups of three but have a few more serrations along the leaf edge, and the leaf surface is somewhat wrinkled. Virginia creeper and poison ivy very often grow together, even on the same tree.

Poison oak leaves also come in threes on the end of a stem, but each leaf is shaped somewhat like an oak leaf.

Poison ivy looks like ivy. Each tendril of ivy ends in three leaves which are almond shaped. Color ranges from light green (usually the younger leaves) to dark green (mature leaves). Leaves can be as long as 10 or 12 inches long, but are usually 4-6 inches long when they are mature. Each leaf has a FEW teeth along its edge, and the leaf surface is SMOOTH. To compare, blackberry and raspberry leaves also come in threes, but they have MANY teeth along the leaf edge, and the top surface of their leaves are very wrinkled where the veins are. The stem and vine are smooth, brown and woody, while blackberry stems are green with thorns.

The leaves are compound with three leaflets, giving rise to the doggerel, "Leaflets three, let it be." The berries (actually drupes) are a grayish-white color and are a favorite winter food of some birds.

Poison ivy is apparently far more common now than when the Europeans first entered North America, because it has profited immensely from the "edge effect", enabling it to form lush colonies in such places.