Each leaflet has a few or no teeth along its edge, and the leaf surface is smooth. The leaflets of mature leaves are somewhat shiny. Leaf color ranges from light green (usually the younger leaves) to dark green (mature leaves), turning bright red in fall though other sources say leaves are reddish when expanding, turn green through maturity, then back to red, orange, or yellow in the fall. radicans are trifoliate with three almond -shaped leaflets.

as a trailing vine that is 10–25 centimetres (3.9–9.8 in) tall.

as a shrub up to 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in) tall.

as a climbing vine that grows on trees or some other support.

radicans, which can be found growing in any of the following forms all of which have woody stems:

There are numerous subspecies and/or varieties of T. Toxicodendron radicans vine with typical reddish 'hairs.' Like the leaves, the vines are poisonous to humans. Toxicodendron radicans is commonly eaten by many animals, and the seeds are consumed by birds,but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed. The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name it is not a true ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew family. Poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is a poisonous Asian and North American flowering plant that is well known for causing an itching, irritating, and sometimes painful rash in most people who touch it, caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant’s sap.

Poison ivy 2016