When a tree has a name like poisonwood you know to stay away. Metopium toxiferum is a member of the sumac family, Anacardiaceae, and like its poison sumac and oak relatives is a don’t-touch-me kind of plant. It can be identified by the fact that its leaves turn up, rather than down, and its trunk is often adorned with black patches of sap.
So walking in the woods in the Keys is more of an adventure than typical as the poisonwood tree is all over the place. For instance, if you stand under the tree during a rain you can break out in a severe rash from run off.
Yikes!!!😮👿
