T. pubescens is a dioecious perennial that grows as a forb/herb, shrub, or subshrub. Leaves are alternate, trifoliate and lobed. It can grow up to 10 ft (3 m) in height but is more commonly 2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m).
Toxicodendron pubescens can be found from Long Island, NY south to north Florida, west to eastern Texas and inland to West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas.
Toxicodendron pubescens (syn. Rhus pubescens), commonly known as Atlantic poison oak, is an upright shrub that can grow to 1 m (3 ft) tall. Its leaves are 15 cm (6 in) long, alternate, with three leaflets on each. The leaflets are usually hairy and are variable in size and shape, but most often resemble white oak leaves; they usually turn yellow or orange in autumn. The fruit is small, round, and yellowish or greenish. It is not closely related to true oaks.
This species is native to the Southeastern United States from Virginia westward to Texas and Oklahoma.