Michigan Hikers Beware: 7 Poisonous Plants You Need To Avoid

Michigan summers are gorgeous. The trails are green, the lakes shimmer, the mosquitoes start lifting weights, and somewhere just off the path is a plant waiting to turn your pleasant weekend into a Calamine-soaked experience complete with itching and blisters.

RELATED: These 6 Popular Plants Have Been Added to Michigan’s Invasive Species List

Michigan is home to several poisonous plants that can show up along trails, roadsides, backyards, campsites, parks, and yes, even that overgrown corner of the yard you keep pretending is "natural landscaping."

a bunch of white flowers in a field

Some cause miserable rashes. Some can blister your skin when their sap meets sunlight. A few should be treated with the same energy you give a mystery container in the back of the fridge: look, identify, and let someone else touch it.

Michigan Poisonous Plants Are Not Just a Trail Problem

Poison ivy is the celebrity villain here, mostly because it has excellent branding and terrible customer service. Michigan State University Extension notes poison ivy is common in Michigan, and the old "leaves of three, let it be" rule still earns its paycheck. But poison ivy isn't working alone.

If you're hiking, gardening, mowing, fishing, camping, or doing that thing where you wander into the woods "for just a second," wear real shoes, use gloves, and learn what these plants look like before you encounter a nasty itch or rash.

Know These Plants Before Your Next Outdoor Adventure

A close up of a leafy plant with red and green leaves

Before your next Michigan hike, backyard cleanup, or camping trip, here are seven poisonous plants you'll want to recognize before a pharmacist has to help identify the symptoms.