Hello Gypsy!
I'm not sure where to start. I certainly enjoyed your post and do look forward to seeing the pictures. There is a test you can do that's pretty simple and similar to what you were doing by damaging the leaves. Put on gloves (for the squeamish and think this is poison ivy :-)) and carefully pick a stem or leaf, touching the damaged tip to a clean white piece of paper. The spot should turn dark in about 30 minutes or so. This is urushiol oil which has oxidized.
It actually is possible and does happen that over time you become less sensitive to urushiol oil. Generally, this has been shown with folks around 70 years old.
As for the identification - its tricky as there are regional differences. The leaves may or may not be shiny - that is not a steadfast trait. It could be that you only have a male plant which would explain the lack of drupes (berries). And there are a number of plants which are trifoliate (3 leaflet leaf) which complicates identification.
Now to your final question. I did some searching this evening and didn't turn up any issues with purposefully cultivating poison ivy. Doesn't mean there isn't a local ordinance - I just couldn't find anything online related. |
