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Toxicodendron
Also called Poison Ivy, Sumac, Poison Ivies And Oaks, Poision Oak
Toxicodendron is a genus of trees, shrubs and woody vines in the cashew family, including poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac and the lacquer tree. Its members are grown mostly as wild or ornamental plants rather than care-for houseplants, and the key point for gardeners is that every member produces urushiol, an oil that causes a severe skin rash.
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.
All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis.
In East Asia, in particular in Japan, traditional candle fuel was produced from Toxicodendron vernicifluum and Toxicodendron succedaneum, among other sumac plants in the genus Toxicodendron, rather than beeswax or animal fats. The sumac wax was a byproduct of traditional Japanese lacquer manufacture. The conical rousoku candles produced from sumac wax burn with smokeless flame and were favored in many respects over candles made from lard or beeswax during the Tokugawa shogunate. Japan wax is not a true wax but a solid fat that contains 10-15% palmitin, stearin, and olein with about 1% japanic acid (1,21-heneicosanedioic acid). It is still used in many tropical and subtropical countries in the production of wax match sticks.
Pacific poison oak · Asian Lacquer Tree · Atlantic poison oak · Poison ivy · Western poison ivy · Chinese Lacquer · Poison sumac
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Toxicodendron by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
