All photographs are copyrighted and are the property of E. Brunner.
All photographs are copyrighted and are the property of E. Brunner.
Family: Anacardiaceae
Native or Introduced to Illinois: native
Natural Habit in Illinois: Found throughout the state.
Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound with 3 leaflets per leaf. Leaves are 7 to 10 inches long. Leaflets are ovate and irregularly toothed. Leaves are shiny above. TOXIC.
Flower: Small, yellowish, appearing in clusters. Present May to June. TOXIC.
Fruit: Greenish-white, round, 1/4 inch in diameter, borne in clusters. Present late summer, persisting through winter. TOXIC.
Twig: Slender, gray-brown in color, lenticellate, sparingly pubescent or glabrous. Older growth becomes densely "hairy" in appearance, covered with aerial roots. Buds are stalked, lack scales, and are pubescent. TOXIC.
Bark: Difficult to see through the dense aerial rootlets. TOXIC
Size/Form/Shape: May be present as a low, spreading "carpet" on the forest floor, as a climbing vine, or as a bush.
Distribution for Illinois: Found throughout the state.
Information for this page of the Sullivan Middle School Tree Identification Guide obtained from the following sites:
- http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/tradicans.htm
- The PLANTS Database @ http://plants.usda.gov/