I do, I like Poison Ivy. It really is an attractive plant, just don’t come into contact with it. When I see scenes like the one pictured above which shows Lupine and Poison Ivy plants right next to each other, I think to myself “Beauty and the Beast”. The beauty of the Lupine contrasts so well with the Beast that is Poison Ivy, or is it the Lupine which is the Beast and the Poison Ivy which represents Beauty???
For better or worse, Poison Ivy is prevalent along the trails in the Indiana Dunes. Two of my favorite trails, Long Lake and Miller Woods, are absolutely packed with it. I always wear calf high socks with my pants bottoms tucked into them for tic prevention, but doing so really helps prevent getting an itchy rash. Much of the year you cannot walk some of these trails without brushing up against it, there is that much of it. But it is not difficult to avoid once you know what to look for. In over 160 hikes in the Dunes I have yet to pick up a rash. I do enjoy photographing it just as much as any other plant in the park.
In the spring the leaves range in color from vibrant green, to green tinged with red, to a lovely crimson color. The oils on the leaves give them a nice sheen that I really like. Did you know that Poison Ivy bears fruit? Yep, little grape like clusters of berries. I don’t recommend picking them however.In the fall the leaves become very colorful as they begin to decay. They also lose much of their oily sheen and take on a drier more pastel like appearance.This image shows just how densely packed Poison Ivy can be along some of the trails in the park. This is a very typical sight along the Long Lake trail where it runs along the base of one of the dune ridges. There are well over 100 Poison Ivy plants packed into this small area which runs right up against the trail.Another example of a dense patch of Poison Ivy along the Long Lake trail. The vivid blues and purples of the Lupine plants can easily distract you from the fact that there are again, well over 100 Poison Ivy plants packed into this small area right at the edge of the trail. Nature is beautiful, but demands respect lest you end up taking home a nasty rash.
Tolleston Dunes in the IDNP is one of my favorite trails. It strikes a nice balance between the trails that line the lake front which are dominated by living dunes and interdunal wetlands, and those furthest from the lake that follow the Little Calumet river which feature richer soil with little sand. The Tolleston Dunes trail, as shown in the image above, is still quite sandy but the dunes have stabilized and support a mature forrest ecosystem. It is one of the three trails in the park where you can find Lupine in abundance, along with lots of Birdsfoot Violets, which makes for a very Blue landscape this time of year.
I visited this trail in late April and the Birdsfoot Violets, which have been blooming for a couple weeks now, are easily found in patches along the first third of the trail. I really enjoy the orange contrast in the middle of the flower, and they way it appears to be sticking it’s tongue out at you.There are big patches of Lupine all over this trail. Only a few of them had started to bloom. On this particular day the Bracken Fern were coming up strong, but had not yet crowded everything else out. I was able to get many shots from low vantage points where the Lupine were nicely framed by the ferns.Of course Blue was not the only color present in the floral landscape. There were plenty of vibrant Yellows mixed in with the Blues. There were the occasional Wood Betony and plenty of Horary Puccoon.White flowers were out as well, including plenty of Wild Strawberry. False Solomon’s Seal were just beginning to show, in about a week they will be on full display.Right at the beginning of the trail there is a nice big patch of Purple Deadnettle. A member of the mint family, I see it pretty commonly through out the park. It is not native to the region, though I do not know if it is considered invasive or not.And then there are the Bracken Fern’s. Soon much of the park will be awash in these plants. I have noticed that they all tend to grow to about the same height, and when they spread their leaves it creates a low canopy of green which blocks the sunlight from reaching the ground. I like this phase because you can watch as the ferns emerge and slowly uncoil. First the main stem, and then the leaves unfurl.
