Poison ivy, poison oak, and
poison sumac are common plants in many regions of the United States and Canada.
Poison ivy, poison oak and
poison sumac grow almost everywhere in the United States, except Hawaii, Alaska and some desert areas of Nevada.
A The main poisonous plants that give people trouble are poison ivy, poison oak, and
poison sumac. The tricky thing is that poison ivy can look a different in different parts of the country.
A history of exposure to common contact allergens, such as a recent run-in with poison ivy, poison oak, or
poison sumac, may be all that is needed.
Cade Laboratories is one of the companies offering treatment for exposure to poison ivy, poison oak or
poison sumac that goes beyond just treating the itch and other symptoms.
They are very different than the
poison sumac.
Poison sumac has whitish berries that hang down, and it is kind of rare.
You don't know it yet, but you've just joined at least 2 million other Americans who, this summer, will become all too well acquainted with the power of poison ivy or one of its near relatives--poison oak and
poison sumac. Sometime within the next six to 96 hours, you're likely to find yourself agonized by an itching, watering rash on your back, neck, face, arms, legs and--um, elsewhere.
Poison oak and
poison sumac are closely related to poison ivy.
The most common cause of allergic skin reactions is exposure to poison ivy and its "first cousins" poison oak and
poison sumac. There are many misconceptions about these plants, all species of the plant genus Rhus, and the problems they can cause.
Poison ivy usually grows east of the Rockies, and
poison sumac east of the Mississippi River.
They are named for Euro-Americans (Engelmann spruce, Picea engelmannii) and Native Americans (Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum), for poisons (
poison sumac, Toxicodendron vernix) and for sweets (sugar maple, Acer saccharum).
This useful plant is not to be confused with three sumacs that grow wild in North America, all of which can cause severe dermatitis: poison oak, poison ivy, and
poison sumac.
