poison sumac

American  

noun

1. a shrub or small tree, Rhus vernix (orToxicodendron vernix ), of swampy areas of the eastern U.S., having pinnate leaves and causing severe dermatitis when touched by persons sensitive to it.

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Etymology

Origin of poison sumac

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

According to some older studies, poison ivy and its cousins poison oak and poison sumac cause 10 percent of lost-time injuries among U.S.

From Scientific American • Sep. 20, 2021

Urushiol is what gives poison oak and poison sumac their evil power, too.

From Washington Post • Sep. 10, 2021

After about three hours of traversing difficult terrain with poison sumac and poison ivy, the State Police, which led the search effort, announced that nothing had been found.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2011

Poison oak, which is found mostly out West, and poison sumac, which thrives in wet boggy areas in the mid-Atlantic, elicit similar reactions.

From Washington Post • Aug. 31, 2010

The downy woodpecker, among other things, devours berries of three kinds of dogwood, Virginia creeper, service berry, strawberry, pokeberry, poison ivy, poison sumac, stag-horn sumac, and blue beech.

From Seed Dispersal by Beal, W. J. (William James)