7550. Poison Oak

Nomenclature

Western poison oak.

Description and references

Toxicodendron diversilobum (T. & G.) Greene, Anacardiaceae. Similar to poison ivy in that it has three leaflets, grows as a shrub or vine and produces dermatitis in man. Interbreeds with poison ivy. Habit. Western North America from southern British Columbia to northern Baja California. Constit. Poisons presumably closely related if not identical to those in poison ivy.

Derivative

Eastern poison oak.

Description and references

Toxicodendron quercifolium (Michx.) Greene, Anacardiaceae. Differs significantly from poison ivy. Never climbs or produces aerial roots and rarely hybridizes with poison ivy. Habit. Southern New Jersey to Florida, west to eastern Texas and Kansas. Constit. Poisons may be the same as in poison ivy or Western poison oak.

Derivative

Extract of T. quercifolium.

Nomenclature

Anergex (Mulford).

Caution

Direct contact can cause severe allergic dermatitis. See M.J. Ellenhorn, D.G. Barceloux, Medical Toxicology: Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Poisoning (Elsevier, New York, 1988) pp 1301-1306.

Therapeutic Category

Extract as antiallergic (hyposensitization therapy).

Keywords

Poison Oak Extract: Antiallergic (Hyposensitization Therapy)