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. All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction. The generic name is derived from the Greek words τοξικός (toxikos), meaning "poison," and δένδρον (dendron), meaning "tree".[2] The best known members of the genus in North America are poison ivy (T. radicans), practically ubiquitous throughout most of eastern North America, and western poison oak (T. diversilobum), similarly ubiquitous throughout much of the western part of the continent.
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.[3] 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.[4]
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.
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.
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.
^"Toxicodendron Mill". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
^Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants (4 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 382. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3.
^Pell, Susan Katherine (18 February 2004). "Molecular Systematics of the Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae) (PhD dissertation at Louisiana State University)". Archived from the original on 5 February 2012., page 89
^Ze-Long NIE (2009). "Phylogenetic analysis ofToxicodendron(Anacardiaceae) and its biogeographic implications on the evolution of north temperate and tropical intercontinental disjunctions". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 47 (5): 416–430. doi:10.1111/j.1759-6831.2009.00045.x. S2CID 84305917.
Toxicodendron is a genus of flowering plants in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It contains trees, shrubs and woody vines, including poison ivy, poison...
Toxicodendron diversilobum (syn. Rhus diversiloba), commonly named Pacific poison oak or western poison oak, is a woody vine or shrub in the sumac family...
Toxicodendron vernix, commonly known as poison sumac, or swamp-sumach, is a woody shrub or small tree growing to 9 metres (30 feet) tall. It was previously...
Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is an allergenic flowering plant that occurs in Asia and eastern North America...
Toxicodendron pubescens (syn. Rhus pubescens), commonly known as Atlantic poison oak, or eastern poison oak, is an upright shrub that can grow to 1 metre...
treated as a complex of three separate species: Toxicodendron radicans, Toxicodendron rydbergii, and Toxicodendron orientale. They are well known for causing...
Toxicodendron vernicifluum (formerly Rhus verniciflua), also known by the common name Chinese lacquer tree, is an Asian tree species of genus Toxicodendron...
Toxicodendron rydbergii, the western poison ivy or northern poison oak, is a species of Toxicodendron in the cashew family native to North America. Unlike...
Toxicodendron orientale (Asian poison ivy) is an allergenic East Asian flowering plant in the genus Toxicodendron. The species was first characterized...
Toxicodendron succedaneum, the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), sơn in Vietnamese or charão in Portuguese, is a flowering plant species...
refers to two plant species in the genus Toxicodendron, both of which can cause skin irritation: Toxicodendron diversilobum or Pacific poison oak, found...
properties found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendron spp. (e.g., poison oak, Chinese lacquer tree, poison ivy, poison sumac)...
Toxicodendron calcicola is an endangered species of plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is endemic to the province of Yunnan in China. China Plant Specialist...
Toxicodendron striatum (syn. Rhus striata) is a South American poisonous tree in the family Anacardiaceae, commonly called manzanillo. T. striatum grows...
Toxicodendron parviflorum commonly known as small-flowered poison sumac is a much-branched shrub bearing stalked leaves with three leaflets; the end leaflet...
the order Pucciniales. Pileolaria brevipes parasitizes Toxicodendron diversilobum and Toxicodendron radicans. The color of this rust comes from "its asexual...
exposure to a causative agent include: molluscum contagiosum, warts and toxicodendron dermatitis (a dermatitis caused by a genus of plants including poison...
adhesive pads at the end of its tendrils. It is sometimes mistaken for Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy), despite having five leaflets (poison ivy has...
Toxicodendron delavayi is a species of plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is endemic to China. It is threatened by habitat loss. Sun, W. (2017). "Toxicodendron...
(Metrosideros excelsa). Vines such as common ivy (Hedera helix) and poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) also have aerial roots. This plant organ that is found in...
the economically important and similar-looking Chinese varnish tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum), which he had observed in the lower Yangtze region, rather...
certain sumacs native to Japan and China, such as Toxicodendron vernicifluum (lacquer tree) and Toxicodendron succedaneum (Japanese wax tree). Japan wax is...
example, Trifolium (clover), Laburnum (laburnum), and some species of Toxicodendron (for instance, poison ivy). Pinnatifid Pinnately dissected to the central...
The sap of bougainvillea can cause serious skin rashes, similar to Toxicodendron species. As of 2010, Bougainvillea is generally placed in the Bougainvilleeae...
the Americas they include the oily coating from plants of the genus Toxicodendron: poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. Millions of cases occur each...
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