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(Last Modified On 3/22/2013)
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(Last Modified On 3/22/2013)
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Genus
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Toxicodendron P. Miller
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PlaceOfPublication
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Gard. Dict. Abr. ed. 4, 1754.
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Synonym
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Rhus L., Sp. P1. 265, 1753, pro parte.
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Description
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Trees, shrubs or woody lianas with poisonous secretions. Leaves imparipinnate, deciduous, the leaflets membranous. Inflorescences paniculate, axillary, erect to nodding or pendant, the bracts lanceolate and deciduous. Flowers small, polygamo- dioecious; sepals 5, persistent; petals 5, ascending to spreading or reflexed, imbricate at anthesis; stamens 5, inserted below the disc; ovary 1-locular, sessile on the disc, the ovule basal, the style terminal, simple or apparently so, the stigmas 3. Drupes white, ca as long as broad, glabrous or sparingly pubescent with simple (eglandu- lar) trichomes, slightly compressed, the exocarp deciduous, the mesocarp richly ceriferous; seed compressed.
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Habit
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Trees, shrubs or woody lianas
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Note
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Many authors (e.g., Engler in A. & C. DC., Monogr. Phan. 4: 393, 1883) have treated Toxicodendron as part of the genus Rhus L. However, Barkley (Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 24: 419, 1937) presents considerable evidence that Toxicoden- dron is a distinct genus. Five species are recognized by Barkley in the Western Hemisphere, one occurring in Panama. There are several Asian species. All mem- bers of the genus possess an irritant poison in the stem and leaves (and often in the flowers) causing dermatoses in many individuals. Poison oak, T. radicans (L.) Kuntze, is a member of this genus. The sap of Toxicodendron species has the prop- erty of becoming black on exposure to air and drying into a durable varnish.
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