SPONDIACEAE 727 
b. Leaflets with coarsely toothed or lobed blades. 
Drupes 4-5 mm. thick. 4. R. rhomboidea. 
Drupes 6-7 mm. thick. 5. R. Toxicodendron. 
B. Leaf-blades pinnately 7-11-foliolate : tall shrub or small tree. 6. R. Verniz. 
1. Rhus radicans L. A deep green vine, with a poisonous sap. Stems climbing by 
rootlets : leaflets 3, the blades membranous, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 4-20 cm. long, entire, 
coarsely toothed or rarely lobed, often sparingly pubescent, especially beneath, acuminate 
at the apex, rounded or acute at the base: panicles rather loosely-flowered, axillary: flow- 
ers greenish, 4-5 mm. long: sepals ovate, obtuse, 1 mm. long: petals 5, oblong or oblong- 
ovate, obtuse, nerved, recurved : stamens 5, erect: filaments linear-subulate: drupes sub- 
globose, 5-6 mm. in diameter. 
In thickets, woods and fence rows, Nova Scotia to Minnesota, Florida, Arkansas and Nebraska. 
Spring and summer. PoisoN Ivy. POISON OAK. 
2. Rhus Floridàna Mearns. Similar to R. radicans in habit, but smaller and more 
slender. Leaflets 3, the blades relatively thin, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, entire or 
rarely undulate-toothed, glabrous or minutely pubescent : flowers smaller than those of R. 
radicans : drupes 3-4 mm. in diameter. 
In hammocks, peninsular Florida. Spring and summer. 
3. Rhus Blodgéttii Kearney. Shrubby, several dm. tall, the twigs pubescent, 
reddish brown. Leaflets 3, the blades leathery, ovate or oblong-ovate, 3-5 cm. long, short- 
acuminate, entire, rounded or acutish at the base, the upper surface dark green and lus- 
trous, the lower surface dull, pubescent in the axils and at the base of the midrib: drupes 
subglobose, 2.5-3 mm. in diameter, yellowish white, shining: stone minutely roughened, 
10-12-ribbed, ash-colored. 
In sand, Key West, Florida. Spring and summer. 
4. Rhus rhomboidea Small. A spreading shrub, about 1 m. tall. Leaflets 3, 
the blades ovate or sometimes obovate in outline, 2-6 cm. long, 3-5-lobed, pubescent on 
both sides or glabrate above, dark green, the lobes entire or coarsely toothed : panicles 
many flowered but not dense, pubescent: pedicels slender, 4-5 mm. long, the bracts 1-2 
mm. long: flowers whitish, 5 mm. broad : sepals 5, ovate, 1 mm. long, rounded at the 
i petals oblong-ovate, conspicuously nerved, 2 mm. long, curled back and revolute, 
obtuse : stamens erect ; filaments broadly subulate, flattened, about as long as the anthers: 
drupes subglobose, 4-5 mm. in diameter. 
In rocky hillsides, the Indian Territory and Texas. Spring. 
5. Rhus Toxicodéndron L. A low shrub 2-10 dm. tall, with tomentose foliage 
and inflorescence, spreading by underground stems. Leaflets 3, the blades leathery, ovate 
in outline or rarely obovate, coarsely crenate or lobed, obtuse, more densely tomentose 
beneath than above, the lateral ones sessile: panicles axillary, densely flowered : flowers 
greenish white, 3-4 mm. broad: sepals oblong, ascending, obtuse: petals 5, oblong to 
oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, about 2.5 mm. long, curled back: stamens 5, erect ; filaments 
linear-subulate, about as long as the anthers: drupes depressed-globose, greenish yellow, 
6-7 mm. in diameter. 
In pine lands and the foothills, North Carolina to Florida and Texas. Spring. Porson OAK. 
6. Rhus Vérnix L. A shrub or small tree, sometimes 8'm. tall, with a very poison- 
oussap anda pale bark. Leaflets 7-13, the blades oblong, elliptic or oval, the terminal one 
sometimes obovate, 4-15 cm. long, acuminate at both ends, undulate, often inequilateral, 
more or less pubescent beneath, becoming glabrous above : panicles axillary, on elongated 
peduncles, rather loosely many-flowered : flowers greenish : sepals ovate, about 1 mm. long 
apiculate ; petals linear-oblong, 2 mm. long, obtuse, curved, erect, the tips slightly turned 
ack : stamens longer than the petals in the staminate flowers, much shorter in the pis- 
tillate flowers: drupes subglobose, flattened, about 6 mm. broad, in drooping panicles, 
white. [H. venenata DC. ] 
In swamps, Ontario to Minnesota, south to Florida and Louisiana. Spring. Po1son Sumac. 
Polson Oak. POISON ELDER. PorsoN DoGwoop. THUNDER-WOOD. 
4. SCHMALTZIA Desv. 
Shrubs or trees, usually with pubescent foliage and rarely if at all poisonous. Leaves 
alternate, 3-foliolate or pinnately several-foliolate : leaflets with generally toothed, or some- 
what lobed blades. Flowers in terminal panicles, sometimes densely crowded, polygamous 
or dioecious. Sepals commonly 5. Petals commonly 5, imbricated. Ovary 1-celled. 
Ovule pendulous. Drupe red, clothed with acid-secreting hairs, the sarcocarp thin and 
never wax-secreting, its slender strands tending to persist with the outer coat than with the 
even and smooth stone. SUMAC. 
