Skunkbush, a much-branched shrub from 2 to 7 feet high but which averages 

 about 4 feet, is widely distributed, ranging from Alberta to Illinois, northern 

 Mexico, California, and southern Oregon. It is listed in some of the manuals 

 as occurring in Washington, but the local manuals of that State omit it ; hence 

 it is doubtful if skunkbush grows there. This species is. often known as squaw- 

 berry, squawbush, and skunkbrush ; other common names include lemita, lem- 

 onade sumac, polecat bush, shoneehaw, and three-lobed sumac. Some of these 

 names refer to its disagreeable odor; others to its acid fruits. The specific 

 name is Latin for three-lobed, and refers to the three leaflets. This plant 

 abounds on dry, rocky hillsides, principally at elevations of from 3,500 to 

 8,000 feet, but also occurs at lower elevations and frequently grows in nearly 

 pure stands. In addition, it appears, to some extent, along streams and in 

 canyon bottoms, specimens in the moister situations being larger and more 

 luxuriant than those of the drier sites. In such locations, this species seldom 

 forms pure stands, but is associated with alders (Alnus spp.), serviceberries 

 (Amelanchier spp.), chokecherries (Primus spp.), and other shrubs. Skunk- 

 bush inhabits the ponderosa pine and other open coniferous timber stands, as 

 well as oakbrush, typically occupying openings in these types, and does not 

 occur ordinarily in dense shade. 



Over most of its range the palatability of this species to domestic livestock 

 is distinctly low. However, in the Southwest and southwestern Colorado the 

 species is usually fair, fairly good, or even good for cattle as well as sheep, 

 depending largely on the local supply of palatable herbaceous vegetation. 

 Chapline 1 reports that "lemita or skunkbush (Schmaltzta* spp.)" is "of very 

 high palatability" to goats in the Southwest. 



The Indians prized the tough, pliable shoots of skunkbush in basketmaking. 2 

 They also used the dried, powdered fruits as a lotion in the treatment of 

 smallpox. 3 The powder was mixed with water and applied to the unbroken, 

 hard pustules but was used dry on the open sores. These usages are reflected 

 in the English names squawberry and squawbush applied to this species. 



In the desert regions of California a variety (R. triloba'ta anisophyl'la) 

 occurs, which differs from the typical form of the species chiefly in having 

 smaller leaves with the lateral leaflets unequal in size and the berries bright 

 crimson in color. 



SUMACS 

 Rhu's spp. 



Sumacs, under a conservative nomenclatural concept, compose a genus of 

 about 125 species of evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees containing a milky, 

 usually acrid or resinous sap, and with simple or compound leaves. Besides 

 tannin, they yield waxes, dyes, varnishes, and medicinal compounds. Species 

 of the genus are widely distributed in the temperate and warmer regions of 

 both hemispheres. Rhus is the classical name of these plants, which belong 

 to the sumac family (Anacardiaceae) that includes various well-known eco- 

 nomic and ornamental trees, such as cashew (Anacardium occidentale) , 

 mango (Manffifera indica), California peppertree (Schinus molle), the smoke- 

 trees (Cotinus spp.), and pistache (Pistacia vera). 



As herein discussed, the sumac genus includes the genera Lithraea, Loba- 

 dium, Neostyphonia, Rhoeidium, and Schmaltsia, of some authors, but the 

 poison-ivies, poison-oaks, and poison-sumacs (Toxicodendron spp.), merged in 

 the genus Rhits by some botanists, are regarded as generically distinct. 



On a conservative basis, some 18 species of Rhus occur in the West, 4 being 

 separated according to leaf differences into the following well-defined groups : 



(1) Three species with undivided, thick, evergreen leaves belonging to the 

 genus Lobadium of some authors, are shrubs, or sometimes small trees of tin' 



1 Chapline, W. R. PRODUCTION OF GOATS ON PAR WESTERN RANGER. U. S. Dept. Agr. 

 Bull. 749, 35 pp., illus. 1919. 



2 Wooton, E. O. TRKES AND SHRUBS OF NEW MEXICO. N. Mex. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 

 87. 159 pp., illus. 1913. 



* Chesnut, V. K. PLANTS USED BY THE INDIANS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Bot., Contrib. U. S. Natl. Herbarium 7 : 295-422, illus. 1902. 



* Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 

 101, 214 pp., illus. 1931. 



