Domestication of poison ivy

[Christopher Lindsey]

	This brings up the interesting issue of ethics in gardening.  Is it
ethical for people to plant species that may damage native habitats (i.e.
kudzu, Purple loosestrife) if they find it attractive?  Is it ethical to
plant harmful plants that have the ability to spread off of your own
property, such as Poison ivy?

	When I worked at the Morton Arboretum, they had a plant (I can't
remember the scientific name off the top of my head) called a varnish tree
or varnish plant that produced SEVERE dermatitis on contact.  Once it started
spreading, they just yanked it out even though it was their only specimen.

Just thought I'd bring that up...  :)

Christopher Lindsey -- Dept. of Landscape Architecture, Univ. of Illinois