Poison sumac Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun dermatitis resulting from contact with a poison sumac plant
noun smooth American swamp shrub with pinnate leaves and greenish flowers followed by greenish white berries; yields an irritating oil
poison dogwood; Toxicodendron vernix; Rhus vernix; poison ash.

(Bot.), a poisonous shrub of the genus Rhus (R. venenata); also called poison ash, poison dogwood, and poison elder. It has pinnate leaves on graceful and slender common petioles, and usually grows in swampy places. Both this plant and the poison ivy (Rhus Toxicodendron) have clusters of smooth greenish white berries, while the red-fruited species of this genus are harmless. The tree (Rhus vernicifera) which yields the celebrated Japan lacquer is almost identical with the poison sumac, and is also very poisonous. The juice of the poison sumac also forms a lacquer similar to that of Japan.