Cashew or
Sumac Family
(Anacardiaceae)
Shrubs, small trees,
and a few woody vines with resinous sap or milky juice often in bark and
other parts; in a few species the resin or volatile oil is caustic and
poisonous to the skin.
Flowers: tiny or small, commonly white; many in large branched cluster; bisexual or unisexual, mostly radiating symmetrical;
usually sepals 5, petals 5, and generally 10 stamens around a disk, and
1 pistol with a superior 1-celled (to 5-celled) ovary, 1 style,
and 3 stigmas,
Leaves: alternate, simple; without stipules or pinnately compound, with
3 leaflets.
Fruit: berry-like. Usually a 1-seeded resinous drupe.
The family consists of about 60 genera and 600 species, mostly in the
tropical and north temperate regions; 15 native and 3 naturalized tree,
6 native shrub, and 1 woody vine species in North American. Some species are grown as
ornamentals for landscape decoration, and some for their nuts. Others,
such as Poison Ivy, contain a volatile oil that can cause severe skin
irritation.
