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Toxicodendron
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Toxicodendron
Toxicodendron is a genus of flowering plants in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It contains trees, shrubs and woody vines, including poison ivy, poison oak, and the lacquer tree. The best-known members of the genus in North America are eastern poison ivy (T. radicans) and western poison oak (T. diversilobum), both ubiquitous throughout much of their respective region.
All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis. The resins of certain species native to Japan, China and other Asian countries, such as lacquer tree (T. vernicifluum) and wax tree (T. succedaneum), are used to make lacquer, and, as a byproduct of lacquer manufacture, their berries are used to make japan wax.
Plants in the genus have pinnately compound, alternate leaves and whitish or grayish drupes. They are quite variable in appearance. The leaves may have smooth, toothed, or lobed edges, and all three types of leaf edges may be present in a single plant. The plants grow as creeping vines, climbing vines, shrubs, or, in the case of lacquer tree (T. vernicifluum) and poison sumac (T. vernix), as trees. While leaves of poison ivy and poison oaks usually have three leaflets, sometimes there are five or, occasionally, even seven leaflets. Leaves of poison sumac have 7–13 leaflets, and of Lacquer Tree, 7–19 leaflets.
It was published by Philip Miller in 1754. The lectotype species is Toxicodendron pubescens Mill. The genus is a member of the Rhus complex, and has at various times been categorized as being either its own genus or a sub-genus of Rhus. There is evidence which points to keeping Toxicodendron as a separate monophyletic genus, but researchers have stated that the Toxicodendron and Rhus groups are complex and require more study to be fully understood.
The common names come from similar appearances to other species that are not closely related and to the allergic response to the urushiol. Poison oak is not an oak (Quercus, family Fagaceae), but this common name comes from the leaves' resemblance to white oak (Quercus alba) leaves, while poison ivy is not an ivy (Hedera, family Araliaceae), but has a superficially similar growth form. Technically, the plants do not contain a poison; they contain a potent allergen.
29 species are accepted (as of November 2024).
The generic name is derived from the Greek words τοξικόν (toxikón), meaning 'poison', and δένδρον (déndron), meaning 'tree'.
All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis.
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Toxicodendron
Toxicodendron is a genus of flowering plants in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It contains trees, shrubs and woody vines, including poison ivy, poison oak, and the lacquer tree. The best-known members of the genus in North America are eastern poison ivy (T. radicans) and western poison oak (T. diversilobum), both ubiquitous throughout much of their respective region.
All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis. The resins of certain species native to Japan, China and other Asian countries, such as lacquer tree (T. vernicifluum) and wax tree (T. succedaneum), are used to make lacquer, and, as a byproduct of lacquer manufacture, their berries are used to make japan wax.
Plants in the genus have pinnately compound, alternate leaves and whitish or grayish drupes. They are quite variable in appearance. The leaves may have smooth, toothed, or lobed edges, and all three types of leaf edges may be present in a single plant. The plants grow as creeping vines, climbing vines, shrubs, or, in the case of lacquer tree (T. vernicifluum) and poison sumac (T. vernix), as trees. While leaves of poison ivy and poison oaks usually have three leaflets, sometimes there are five or, occasionally, even seven leaflets. Leaves of poison sumac have 7–13 leaflets, and of Lacquer Tree, 7–19 leaflets.
It was published by Philip Miller in 1754. The lectotype species is Toxicodendron pubescens Mill. The genus is a member of the Rhus complex, and has at various times been categorized as being either its own genus or a sub-genus of Rhus. There is evidence which points to keeping Toxicodendron as a separate monophyletic genus, but researchers have stated that the Toxicodendron and Rhus groups are complex and require more study to be fully understood.
The common names come from similar appearances to other species that are not closely related and to the allergic response to the urushiol. Poison oak is not an oak (Quercus, family Fagaceae), but this common name comes from the leaves' resemblance to white oak (Quercus alba) leaves, while poison ivy is not an ivy (Hedera, family Araliaceae), but has a superficially similar growth form. Technically, the plants do not contain a poison; they contain a potent allergen.
29 species are accepted (as of November 2024).
The generic name is derived from the Greek words τοξικόν (toxikón), meaning 'poison', and δένδρον (déndron), meaning 'tree'.
All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis.
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