76 anacardiace^e. (cashew family.) 



thing but " airs from heaven," offer a serious objection to the planting of this 

 ornamental tree near dwellings. 



Ordek 32. ANACARDIACE^L (Cashew Family.) 



Trees or sJwubs, tcith a resinous or milky acrid juice, dotless alternate 

 leaves, and small, often polygamous, regular penlandrous flowers, with a 1- 

 celled and 1-ovuled ovary, but loith 3 styles or stigmas. — Petals imbricated 

 in the bud. Seed borne on a curved stalk that rises from the base of the 

 cell, without albumen. Stipules none. Often poisonous. — Represented 

 only by the genus 



1. RHUS, L. Sumach. 



Sepals 5. Petals 5. Stamens 5, inserted under the edge or between the lobes 

 of a flattened disk in the bottom of the calyx. Fruit small and indehiscent, a 

 sort of dry drupe. — Leaves (simple in P. Cotinus, the Smoke-Plant of gardens) 

 usually compound. Flowers greenish-white or yellowish. (The old Greek and 

 Latin name of the genus.) 



§ 1. SUMAC, DC. — Flowers polygamous, in a terminal thyrsoid panicle: fruit 

 globular , clothed with acid crimson hairs; the stone smooth: leaves odd-pinnate. 

 (Not poisonous.) 



1. R. tjphilia, L. (Staghorn Sumach.) Branches and stalks densely 

 velvety-hairy; leaflets 11-31, pale beneath, oblong-lanceolate, pointed, serrate. 

 — Hill-sides. June. — Shnib or tree 10° -30° high, with orange-colored wood. 



2. R. glal>ra, L. (Smooth Sumach.) Smooth, som&rhat glaucous; 

 leaflets 11-31, whitened beneath, lanceolate-oblong, pointed, serrate. — Rocky 

 or barren soil. June, July. — Shrub 2° - 12° high. 



3. R. COpalSlBta, L. (Dwarf Sumach.) Branches and stalks downy ; 

 petioles wing-margined between the 9-21 oblong or ovate-lanceolate leaflets, 

 which are oblique or unequal at the base, smooth and shining above. — Rocky 

 hills. July. — Shrub l°-7° high, with running roots. Leaflets variable, en- 

 tire or sparingly toothed. 



§2. TOXICODENDRON, Tourn. — Flowers polygamous, in loose and slender 

 axillary panicles : fruit globular, glabrous, whitish or dun-colored; the stone striate: 

 leaves odd-pinnate or 3-foliolate, thin. (Poisonous to the touch : even the effluvium 

 in sunshine affecting some persons.) 



4. R. venenata, DC. (Poison Sumach or Dogwood.) Smooth, 

 or nearly so; leaflets 7-13, obovate-oblong, entire. (R. Vernix, L., partly.) — 

 Swamps. June. — Shrub 6° -18° high. The most poisonous species. Also 

 called, inappropriately, Poison Elder and Poison Dogwood. 



5. R. Toxicodendron, L. (Poison Ivy. Poison Oak.) Climb- 

 ing by rootlets over rocks, &c, or ascending trees; leaflets 3, rhombic-ovate, 

 mostly pointed, and rather downy beneath, variously notched or cut-lobed, or 

 entire — When climbing trees, it is R. radicans, L. — Thickets, &c. June. 



