As I recall - since I have yet to grow this, I may be mis-remembering - it's not an irritant for all people. If you get poison ivy badly, then you might want to be more careful. I THINK Smoke bush is the same family as cashew nuts, but may be wrong - if you react to nuts, you might react to it. From my experience with other plants that are problematic for me and others (Brazilian Pepper Tree in FL, years ago, Star Jasmine in San Francisco) it's more usually a matter of a red, irritated, itchy line where a cut end of a branch scratched you as you were pulling it out of the plant while pruning or while you were moving a pile of prunings. I THINK it's more the sap than the leaves, but I wouldn't crush a handful of leaves and rub myself with them either!

I would take the same precautions I take with poison ivy - long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and latex/plastic gloves (over garden gloves if needed, so they can be tossed and the good gloves kept). I would possibly wash any exposed areas (face, wrists as sleeves pulled up, etc.) with Tecnu after I came in - it will work for PI, so is worth trying if you turn out to be very reactive. I would also toss my clothes straight into the wash, and wash with as hot water as they can handle. And if you find you are especially reactive to it - which may or may not be the case, you'll just have to see how YOU react - then I might shower and shampoo as soon as I came in as well.

Never had a reaction to it, maybe because I didn't know it had this reputation. I've been growing the purple-leaved variety for about 20 years, and had a green-leafed one before that. I prune these heavily just about every year, so I'm sure I've scraped myself pulling out those long branches. I remove several long ones from the base every spring, and cut back many of the long sprouts that come from near the cuts; this requires really close contact with the plant. And, it's next to a path, so I'm also sure I've brushed the foliage and stems quite often.

It's possible that I've had a mild reaction and just not associated it with the cotinus - hey, I may have given the dog an extra, unneeded flea bath or two as a result.

I saved the following statement when I was first looking for a Cotinus shrub. Not sure where I got it from. I still got one, but it is located where I don't often brush by it so I haven't had any trouble.

"The botanical name was once Rhus cotinus, the genus Rhus being a member of the cashew clan, consisting of some 120 mostly poisonous species of trees or shrubs, some especially so, such as poison ivy (Rhus toxicodendron). Because of this, it is suggested that you wear gloves when pruning, as the sap has been known to cause rashes."

tj

Margay, as I said in my initial response, not everyone reacts to it. If you REALLY wanted to, you could find a plant and try a "scratch test" to see if you react. However, reactions can develop over time to things that weren't a problem earlier. I think I would get the plant anyway, and still keep to the gloves and long sleeves and pant legs, but not bother with immediate washing of me or clothing, etc.. I might also follow Tsugajunkie's example and plant it where a daily contact is less likely.

As I said, I do react to some plants (including the ground-cover junipers!), but I also think I will be getting a Cotinus at some point - I do like their looks.

I had just fallen in love with and bought a purple smokebush for my garden when I saw this thread. I'm very sensitive to poison ivy and even the smallest contact requires prednisone for me to overcome the rash it causes. So I accepted it, geared up for possible steroids and got up close and personal with the bush when planting it, trimmed a couple of branches, then waited. But I never reacted to the smokebush, not even the slightest itch, much less the blisters of poison ivy contact. So, while it may be a relative, it's more like the quiet stunning beauty and not the mischievous, evil one...:)

Poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, Cotinus spp. (smoke bush), cashews and others are all members of the Anacardiaceae family. They have urushiol in their sap, an allergen that can affect susceptible people.

Thank you for sharing! I am very allergic to poison oak but now live no where near where it grows. Yet, I would get small, very itchy blisters on my arms just as if I had touched poison oak. Now I think it might be our smoke tree. I just trimmed it the other day and gathered up the branches. I may do a small test to confirm!

Wow, I too did not realize that this beautiful bush/shrub/tree is in that notorious family. I have gotten bad rashes from what I assume is poison ivy in my yard (usually after doing some aggressive weeding). I have not noticed any reaction associated with this plant but will keep the plant's botanical kin in mind when I am around it. It is a gorgeous plant and I LOVE the bronze, round leaves. I also grow containerized mangos (also in this family) and do handle and eat mango fruits and cashews without reaction, but I try to avoid this interesting plant family while recuperating from poison ivy exposure.

I had two smoke bushes in my yard and I now know for a fact that they were the source of serious periodic rashes I would get (I know I am sensitive to poison ivy). I have now removed these.