Found 2 items, similar to poison sumac.
English → English (WordNet)
Definition: poison sumac
poison sumac
n 1: dermatitis resulting from contact with a poison sumac plant
2: smooth American swamp shrub with pinnate leaves and greenish
flowers followed by greenish white berries; yields an
irritating oil [syn:
poison ash,
poison dogwood,
Toxicodendron vernix
,
Rhus vernix]
English → English (gcide)
Definition: Poison sumac
Poison
\Poi"son\, n. [F. poison, in Old French also, a potion,
fr. L. potio a drink, draught, potion, a poisonous draught,
fr. potare to drink. See
Potable, and cf.
Potion.]
1. Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism,
is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly
effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the
poison of pestilential diseases.
[1913 Webster]
2. That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as,
the poison of evil example; the poison of sin.
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Poison ash. (Bot.)
(a) A tree of the genus
Amyris (
Amyris balsamifera)
found in the West Indies, from the trunk of which a
black liquor distills, supposed to have poisonous
qualities.
(b) The poison sumac (
Rhus venenata). [U. S.]
Poison dogwood (Bot.), poison sumac.
Poison fang (Zo["o]l.), one of the superior maxillary teeth
of some species of serpents, which, besides having the
cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a
longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of
the poison gland terminates. See Illust. under
Fang.
Poison gland (Biol.), a gland, in animals or plants, which
secretes an acrid or venomous matter, that is conveyed
along an organ capable of inflicting a wound.
Poison hemlock (Bot.), a poisonous umbelliferous plant
(
Conium maculatum). See
Hemlock.
Poison ivy (Bot.), a poisonous climbing plant (formerly
Rhus Toxicodendron, or
Rhus radicans, now classified
as
Toxicodendron radicans) of North America. It is
common as a climbing vine, especially found on tree
trunks, or walls, or as a low, spreading vine or as a
shrub. As a low vine it grows well in lightly shaded
areas, recognizable by growing in clusters of three
leaves. Its leaves are trifoliate, rhombic-ovate, and
variously notched. Its form varies slightly from location
to location, leading to some speculation that it may
consist of more than one species. Many people are poisoned
by it, though some appear resistant to its effects.
Touching the leaves may leave a residue of an oil on the
skin, and if not washed off quickly, sensitive areas of
skin become reddened and develop multiple small blisters,
lasting for several days to several weeks, and causing a
persistent itch. The toxic reaction is due to an oil,
present in all parts of the plant except the pollen,
called
urushiol, the active component of which is the
compound
pentadecylacatechol. See
Poison sumac. It is
related to
poison oak, and is also called
mercury.
Poison nut. (Bot.)
(a) Nux vomica.
(b) The tree which yields this seed (
Strychnos Nuxvomica
). It is found on the Malabar and Coromandel
coasts.
Poison oak (Bot.), a dermatitis-producing plant often
lumped together with the poison ivy (
Toxicodendron radicans
) in common terminology, but more properly
distinguished as the more shrubby
Toxicodendron quercifolium
(syn.
Toxicodendron diversilobum), common
in California and Oregon. Opinion varies as to whether the
poison oak and poison ivy are only variants of a single
species. See
poison ivy, above.
Poison sac. (Zo["o]l.) Same as
Poison gland, above. See
Illust. under
Fang.
Poison sumac (Bot.), a poisonous shrub formerly considered
to be of the genus
Rhus (
Rhus venenata), but now
classified as
Toxicodendron vernix; -- 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 (
Toxicodendron radicans, formerly
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.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Syn: Venom; virus; bane; pest; malignity.
Usage:
Poison,
Venom. Poison usually denotes something
received into the system by the mouth, breath, etc.
Venom is something discharged from animals and
received by means of a wound, as by the bite or sting
of serpents, scorpions, etc. Hence, venom specifically
implies some malignity of nature or purpose.
[1913 Webster]
Sumac
\Su"mac\, Sumach
\Su"mach\, n. [F. sumac, formerly sumach
(cf. Sp. zumaque), fr. Ar. summ[=a]q.] [Written also
shumac.]
1. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus
Rhus, shrubs or small
trees with usually compound leaves and clusters of small
flowers. Some of the species are used in tanning, some in
dyeing, and some in medicine. One, the Japanese
Rhus vernicifera
, yields the celebrated Japan varnish, or
lacquer.
[1913 Webster]
2. The powdered leaves, peduncles, and young branches of
certain species of the sumac plant, used in tanning and
dyeing.
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Poison sumac. (Bot.) See under
Poison.
[1913 Webster]