Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow . Many people have trouble telling poison ivy and Virginia creeper apart., Both are native vines in the cashew family, both are deciduous, have compound leaves and produce berries that are an important food for birds in the winter. Poison ivy, however, has three leaflets per leaf, leaves of three –- leave it be -- while Virginia creeper has five leaflets and is actually quite pretty and planted frequently for beauty