I was raised on learning what poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac looked like but there was this other one that I was not taught in Boy Scouts. Thunderwood. I learned this one from my grandfather. It has many names, Thunderwood, Cow-Itch, Trumpet Vine, Trumpet Creeper, Viney Sumac.....ect. A lot of people grow these vines because they look nice and have big red flowers the hummingbirds love. To many, it is something that you dont want to mess with. It is all in our cow pasture and we cut it down just like the poison ivy that's growing up the trees. Many are not allergic and many are. My family always was so I will not take my chances and kill it all. We usually use the name cow-itch when describing it. That's what most Alabamians call it. |