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Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus Toxicodendron native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, Toxicodendron radicans , poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate species: T. radicans , T. rydbergii , and T. orientale .
Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy [3] or poison ivy, is a species of allergenic flowering plant. It has numerous subtaxons and forms both vines and shrubs. Despite its common name, it is not a true ivy, but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family Anacardiaceae.
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 Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family [1] or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. [2] Members of the Anacardiaceae bear fruits that are drupes and in some cases produce urushiol , an irritant .
Unlike Toxicodendron radicans (eastern poison ivy), which often appears as a trailing or climbing vine, T. rydbergii is a shrub that can grow to 1 m (3 ft) tall, rarely up to 3 m (10 ft). The leaves are trifoliate and alternate. The leaflets are variable in size and shape, and are usually 15 cm (6 in) long, turning yellow or orange in autumn.
Urushiol / ʊ ˈ r uː ʃ i. ɒ l / is an oily mixture of organic compounds with allergenic properties found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendron spp. (e.g., poison oak, Chinese lacquer tree, poison ivy, poison sumac), Comocladia spp. (maidenplums), Metopium spp.
Hedera, commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.
Toxicodendron orientale is a climbing vine that grows on trees or other supports. The deciduous leaves of T. orientale are trifoliate and grow to be 3–10 centimetres (1 + 1 ⁄ 4 –4 in) in length.