Genus i. 



SUMAC FAMILY. 



48 1 



I. RHUS [Tourn.] L. Sp. PI. 265. 1753. 



Shrubs or trees, with alternate mostly odd-pinnate leaves, no stipules, and small polyga- 

 mous flowers in terminal panicles. Calyx 4-6-cleft or parted (commonly s-cleft), persistent. 

 Petals equal, imbricated, spreading. Disk annular. Stamens (in our species) S. Pistil i, 

 sessile; ovary i-ovuled; styles 3, terminal. Drupe small, i-seeded, mostly subglobose, pubes- 

 cent; stone smooth. Seeds inverted on a stalk that rises from the base of the ovary; cotyle- 

 dons nearly flat. [Ancient Greek and Latin name ; Celtic, red.] 



About 125 species, natives of warm and temperate regions. Besides the following, about 6 

 others occur in the southern and western parts of the United States. Type species; RIius coriaria L. 



Rachis of the leaf wing-margined. i. R- copalliiia, 

 Rachis of the leaf nearly terete. 



Foliage and twigs velvety-pubescent. 2. R.hirta. 



Foliage and twigs elabrous. glaucous. 3. R. glabra. 



I. Rhus copallina L. Dwarf Black or 



Alountain Sumac. Upland Sumac. 



Fig. 2776. 



Rhus copallina L. Sp. PI. 266. 175J. 



A shrub, or sometimes a small tree, with maxi- 

 mum height of about 20 and trunk diameter of 

 6'. Leaves pinnate, 6-12' long, the petiole and 

 rachis more or less pubescent; leaflets 9-21, 

 ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, inequilat- 

 eral, acute or obtusish at each end, entire, or 

 few-toothed toward the apex, dark green and 

 glabrous above, paler and often pubescent be- 

 neath ; rachis wing-margined between the leaf- 

 lets ; flowers polygamous, green, ij" broad, in 

 dense terminal panicles; pedicels and calyx finely 

 pubescent ; drupe compressed, 2" in diameter, 

 crimson, covered with short fine acid hairs. 



In dry soil. Maine and southern Ontario to Flor- 

 ida, west to Minnesota. Nebraska and Texas. Not 

 poisonous. Leaves and bark contain much tannin 

 and are collected in large quantities in the southern 

 States, and ground for tanning leather. Wood soft, 

 light brown; weight per cubic foot 33 lbs. Ascends 

 to 2600 ft. in North Carolina. Smooth or common 

 sumac. June-.^ug. 



2. Rhus hirta (L.) Sudw. Staghorn 

 Sumac. Fig. 2777. 



Datisca hirta L. Sp. PI. 1037. 1753. 



Rhus fyphiiia L. Amoen. Acad. 4: 311. 1760. 



Rhus hirta Sudw. Bull. Torr. Club 19; 82. 1892. 



A small tree, with maximum height of 40 

 and trunk diameter of 9', or often shrubby. 

 Leaves pinnate, 8-15' long; petioles, rachis 

 and twigs more or less densely velvety-pubes- 

 cent; leaflets 11-31, lanceolate or oblong-lan- 

 ceolate, 3-5' long, acuminate at the apex, 

 rounded at the base, sharply serrate, dark 

 green and nearly glabrous above, pale and 

 more or less pubescent beneath ; panicles term- 

 inal, dense; flowers green, polygamous, li" 

 broad; drupe globose, i*"-2" in diameter, very 

 densely covered with bright crimson hairs. 



In dry or rocky soil. Nova Scotia to Georgia, 

 especially along the mountains, west to southern 

 Ontario, South Dakota and Iowa. Wood soft, 

 greenish-yellow ; weight per cubic foot 27 lbs. 

 Bark rich in tannin, h. race with laciniate leaf- 

 lets has been found in New Hampshire. June. 

 Vinegar-tree. American, Virginia, hairy or velvet- 

 sumac. Staghorn. 



3" 



