Toxicodendron radicans
Climbing Poison sumac ( Toxicodendron radicans )
The Climbing poison ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans, frequent synonym: Rhus radicans ) is a creeping or climbing with adventitious roots, poisonous shrub with sparse hairy or bald shoots from the family of Sumac ( Anacardiaceae ). The natural range is in North and South America, and East Asia.
The Climbing poison ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans ) is also called 'the Poison Ivy ( " poison ivy " ), but is not closely related to the real Efeuarten, the genus Hedera.
Description
The Climbing poison ivy is a creeping on the ground, upright or me climbing rootlets, poisonous shrub with sparse hairy or bare branches. The leaves are pinnate threes. The leaves are ovate to rhombic, 5-12 inches long, pointed with a rounded base and ganzrandigem or sparsely serrated leaf margin sinuate. The upper leaf surface is dark green, glabrous and shiny, the bottom is more or less hairy.
The flowers grow in 5 to 6 centimeters long panicles. They bloom in June and July. The gray- white fruits are glabrous or rarely hairy short.
Ingredients and toxic effects
The Climbing poison ivy contains in its resin as well as other North American species of the genus urushiols, which combine with proteins of the skin and thus can cause an allergic reaction, which is connected to an inflammation with pain, heat, redness and swelling. People react very differently to the ingredients, but the sensitivity increases with age.
Dissemination
The natural range is in North America in Canada, the United States and Mexico, further in the Bahamas, Bermuda and Guatemala, China, Taiwan and Japan, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. The Climbing poison ivy grows in heathland and dunes, on moderately dry to moderately moist, acidic to mildly acidic, moderately fertile soil in light to partial shade, cool temperate locations. The species is moderately frost hardy. The distribution area is the hardiness zone 4 is associated with mean annual minimum temperatures -34.4 to -28.9 ° C (-30 ° to -20 ° F).
System
The Climbing poison ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans ) is a species of the genus Toxicodendron in the family of Sumac ( Anacardiaceae ). There, the genus of the subfamily Anacardioideae is assigned. The representatives of the genus are sometimes assigned to the genus Rhus. The species was described in 1753 by Carolus Linnaeus as Rhus radicans first time scientifically. Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze placed the species of the genus Toxicodendron. The genus name is Toxicodendron from the two Greek terms Toxicon for "Poison " and dendron composed for "tree." The specific epithet radicans means " roots forming".
We distinguish several subspecies, including:
- Toxicodendron radicans subsp. eximium, with a distribution area in the United States and Mexico
- Toxicodendron radicans subsp. hispidum in Asia
- Toxicodendron radicans subsp. radicans, in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean
- Toxicodendron radicans subsp. verrucosum in the United States and Mexico
Use
The Climbing poison ivy is very rarely used. Despite the toxicity of the nature and effect on the skin, has been reported by several applications of the indigenous people, including the construction of baskets and coloring of textiles.