Toxicodendron vernix

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub
Height:	⇕	10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10.
Width:	⇔	10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Poisonous:	☠	Very poisonous
Bloom:	❀	early summer, mid summer, late summer

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	deciduous, flowers, fall color
USDA Zones:		3 to 9
Flower features:	❀	orange, yellow

Scientific Names

Anacardiaceae >

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Poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix or Rhus vernix) is a woody shrub or small tree growing to 7 m (20 ft) tall. All parts of the plant contain a resin called urushiol that causes skin and mucous membrane irritation to humans. When burned, inhalation of the smoke may cause the rash to appear on the lining of the lungs, causing extreme pain and possibly fatal respiratory difficulty.

Poison sumac is a shrub or small tree, up to 20 feet in height, with 7-13 leaflets per leaf. These are oval to oblong, acuminate, cuneate at the base, undulate, glabrous or slightly pubescent beneath, and are usually 2-4 inch long. Its flowers are greenish, in loose axillary panicles 3-8 inches long. The fruits are subglobose, gray, flattened and 0.2 inches across.

Read about Toxicodendron vernix in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Rhus vernix, Linn. (R. venenata, DC.). Poison Sumac. Poison Elder. Shrub or tree, to 20 ft.: lfts. 7-13, oval to oblong, acuminate, cuneate at base, undulate, glabrous or slightly pubescent beneath usually 2-4 in. long: fls. greenish, in loose axillary panicles 3-8 in. long: fr. subglobose, gray, flattened, 1/5in. across. Swamps, R. I., Ont., and Minn., south to Fla. and La.—Very poisonous: foliage turns to a brilliant scarlet in autumn. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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