92 HO[V TO KNOW WILD FRUITS 



robin on the sumac bushes, dining on the fruits 

 which have been preserved for it through the 

 winter. The catbird includes sumac drupes in 

 his spring diet. The taste of the berries after 

 their exposure to the cold of winter is much less 

 acid than in the fall. The bark and leaves, 

 because of their astringent qualities, are useful 

 in tanning. 



SMOOTH SUMAC 



Rhus glabra Sumac Family 



Fruit. — The dry drupes grow in a more open, 

 compound cluster than those of Bhus liirta. The 

 smaller clusters composing the fruit panicle alter- 

 nate in much the same fashion as the leaves. 

 The calyx persists at the base of each drupe, 

 which is covered with fine red hairs. The fruit 

 is rounded and flattened on two sides. September, 

 and persistent. 



Leaves. — The compound pinnate leaves, with 

 terminal leaflets, grow on smooth, reddish peti- 

 oles. Authorities differ as to the number of 

 the leaflets. They are oblong-lanceolate, sessile, 

 toothed, and have a long point at the apex and 

 rounded base. They are whitened beneath and 



