The Toronto area has been the setting of quite a few strange and obscure world records, from longest enclosed pedestrian bridge to most slices of cucumbers cut in 30 seconds while blindfolded.

The latest is to do not with feats of architecture or human skill, but nature at its most exceptional — in this case, a poisonous plant that grew to set a record for height among its species.

Anyone who's had an encounter with poison ivy during a camping trip or walk through a forest will likely not soon forget the unbearably itchy, red, painful and all-around nasty rash and blisters that form after contact with any part of the plant, and can last for weeks.

Distinguished by its characteristic leaves that grow in threes, starting red in the spring and turning green in the summer, the allergenic, small plant is one that people in Ontario are taught from an early age to avoid.

While upright stalks on poison ivy in Canada are usually only 10 to 80 cm high, shrubs up to 1.2 m, and aerial vines around 6 to 10 m, one plant discovered in Southern Ontario has been recognized by Guinness for soaring to a whopping 20.75 metres.

Probably best to read about this record holder and not get too close.https://t.co/FCkYcCJ32D

— Guinness World Records (@GWR) June 12, 2023

The record was set this spring when Robert Fedrock from Paris, Ontario found it on his farm during a walk through its more densely wooded areas.

The leaves Fedrock saw clinging to a dead tree are unmistakably poison ivy, which has grown toward the sky thanks to a 15 cm wide vine and a mass of aerial roots.

"Had I not been building a trail so close to this plant, I may not have found it because of how dense the woods are in this area," Fedrock told Guinness earlier this year.

"I enjoy the reaction when I point out to people that this great big hairy vine is poison ivy. No one has that in mind when they think of poison ivy, and most people are scared to death of a tiny plant with just a few leaves they see on the forest floor."

Poison ivy growing in vine form is known to climb up buildings, fences and other structures as it sprouts, and contains the same clingy, venomous oil that all forms of the plant are known for.