Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Toxicodendron vernicifluum
open-in-new
<p><i>Toxicodendron vernicifluum</i> (formerly <i>Rhus verniciflua</i>), also known by the common name Chinese lacquer tree, is an <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asian</a> tree species of genus <i><a href="/facts/Toxicodendron/boVBQXnJ">Toxicodendron</a></i> native to <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a> and the <a href="/facts/Indian_subcontinent/0XUWGXpx">Indian subcontinent</a>, and cultivated in regions of China, <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a> and <a href="/facts/Korea/cj2kDBzc">Korea</a>. Other common names include <i>Japanese lacquer tree</i>, <i>Japanese sumac</i>, and <i>varnish tree</i>. The trees are cultivated and tapped for their toxic sap, which is used as a highly durable <a href="/facts/Lacquer/83C6H1IW">lacquer</a> to make Chinese, Japanese, and Korean <a href="/facts/Lacquerware/jbq1PpLy">lacquerware</a>. </p><p>The trees grow up to 20 metres tall with large leaves, each containing from 7 to 19 leaflets (most often 11–13). The sap contains the allergenic compound <a href="/facts/Urushiol/K0D4Njqr">urushiol</a>, which gets its name from this species' Japanese name urushi (<i>urushi</i> (漆)); "urushi" is also used in English as a collective term for all kinds of Asian <a href="/facts/Lacquerware/jbq1PpLy">lacquerware</a> made from the sap of this and related Asian tree species, as opposed to European "lacquer" or <a href="/facts/Japanning/eCm0bPAP">Japanning</a> made from other materials. Urushiol is also the <a href="/facts/Oil/fsgX2IRM">oil</a> found in <a href="/facts/Poison_ivy/GnLEC4Ur">poison ivy</a> and <a href="/facts/Poison_oak/ae0vY7NC">poison oak</a> that causes a <a href="/facts/Rash/W97qGpq6">rash</a>. </p>