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Atlantic Poison-oak

Toxicodendron pubescens

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, dry upland woodlands, around dry rock outcrops in the Piedmont and Mountains, barrens. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

Contact hazard

Native to West Virginia. Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
not over 3 feet tall
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to average

Contact hazard. Avoid contact. Plant oils can cause severe skin reactions; smoke from burning plants is also hazardous. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
Spring
Fruiting season
August to October

Not yet recorded · Spread

Recorded in 3 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Cliffs, ledges, rock outcrops, talus and rocky summits where the source does not name the rock. A named rock files the place under its own glade or outcrop type instead.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 60 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (37)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

49CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Rhus

  • Achatia distinctaDistinct Quaker
  • Acronicta longaLong-Winged Dagger, Darkish Dagger
  • Actias lunaLuna Moth
  • Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Antepione thisoariaVariable Antepione
  • Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
  • Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
  • Argyrotaenia quercifolianaYellow-Winged Oak Leafroller Moth, Lined Oak Leafroller
  • Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
  • Caloptilia belfragellaDogwood Caloptilia
Show all 49
  • Caloptilia rhoifoliellaSumac Leafblotch Miner Moth, Sumac Caloptilia
  • Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
  • Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Citheronia regalisRoyal Walnut Moth, Hickory Horned Devil
  • Cleora sublunariaDouble-Lined Gray
  • Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
  • Datana perspicuaSpotted Dantana
  • Derrima stellataPink Star
  • Dichorda iridariaShowy Emerald
  • Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
  • Episimus argutanaSumac Leaftier
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Holcocera chalcofrontellaSumac Holcocera
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
  • Lophocampa caryaeHickory Tussock Moth, Hickory Tiger Moth
  • Marathyssa basalisLight Marathyssa
  • Marathyssa inficitaDark Marathyssa
  • Marathyssa pulcherrimusBeautiful Eutelia
  • Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
  • Moodna ostrinellaDarker Moodna
  • Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
  • Nemoria rubrifrontariaRed-Fronted Emerald
  • Olethreutes appendiceumServiceberry Leafroller
  • Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
  • Paectes oculatrixEyed Paectes
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
  • Pococera asperatellaMaple Webworm
  • Pseudochelaria walsinghamiWalsingham's Moth
  • Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
  • Sciota subfuscellaStriped Sumac Leafroller
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
  • Telphusa longifasciellaY-Backed Telphusa
  • Tetracis crocallataYellow Slant-Line
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Paralobesia rhoifructana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
52BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Rhus

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
19BirdsRecorded eating Toxicodendron in West Virginia

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.

Show all 19
Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Birds that eat Toxicodendron 19

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Anacardiaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Flower color
Yellow or green
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Atlantic Poison oak; Poison Oak; Rhus toxicodendron; sumac

Conservation status

West Virginia rankSH
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources