Poisonwood tree
Metopium toxiferum
While the Poisonwood tree is not one that you would want to use in the landscape, it is a very important tree to be able to recognize if you are enjoying South Florida’s natural areas. Related to poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac, the Poisonwood tree (Metopium toxiferum) produces similar, but more severe, skin rashes from the slightest contact with human skin. It is also called hog gum. Considered evergreen, it drops its leaves once a year in spring, quickly regrowing them. Despite its toxic effect on humans, the poisonwood tree produces nectar for butterflies and the fruits feed the rare white-crown pigeons (Patagioenas leucocephala). Most of the Poisonwood trees that I have seen are around 25 to 30 feet tall and about 12 to 16 inches in diameter even though they can grow larger.
The sap of all parts of the tree is irritating to the skin of most people and often produces a painful rash or swelling upon contact with leaves or twigs. Sometimes the trees are seen as ornamentals in South Florida, where they may have persisted from the original forest. I have seen poisonwood trees in a Rio Vista median (destroyed by Hurricane Wilma) and in an isolated area of Snyder Park. Years ago, a City tree crew was clearing an area along State Road 84, and unknowingly came in contact with a Poisonwood tree. As a result of physical contact and dust created by chipping the wood, the crew members missed an extended period of work with severe rashes.
The Poisonwood tree is characterized by: (1) smoothish light gray bark mottled with yellow to brown spots; (2) a broad rounded crown of widely spreading stout branches; and (3) pinnate leaves with usually 5 (3-7) mostly ovate leathery leaflets blunt-pointed. The leaves are similar to that of the Gumbo Limbo tree. The poison is a resin, visible on the bark as dark oily splotches. The leaves are often blotched with irregular spots of the black resin. This is probably the most important characteristic to know. If you see a tree with dark, almost black, oily splotches on the trunk, avoid coming in contact with this tree.
Read more:
What Is a Poisonwood Tree? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8613786_poisonwood-tree.html#ixzz2Gr3UFNRM
