One of the ubiquitous plants in the San Gabriel Mountains is Poison Oak.

When my girls were young we often went hiking and playing in the stream and I tried to teach them in a simple way what they needed to know about nature.  For instance I taught them: “There are two kind of plants: Poison Oak and Not Poison Oak.”  I have fond memories of pointing at different plants and getting the girls to identify them.

Here is a link to some great flowering Poison Oak pictures I took a few years ago.

This is not a Schefflera.