196 Ornamental Shrubs. 



as may partially hide the seeming deformity and yet per- 

 mit the brilliant scarlet autumnal foliage to be seen. The 

 leaflets, fifteen to thirty-one, are oblong-lanceolate, and 

 very few plants at the season show to better advantage, or 

 do more to enliven the border and brighten the landscape. 

 The buds are also curious, as they are deeply set in the 

 middle of a large leaf-scar, and protected by a mass of 

 hairs, almost cone-shaped, against climatic exposures. The 

 flowers are greenish yellow, and collected in a thyrsoid, 

 terminal panicle. This is, to say the least, an interesting 

 shrub, and can be used to advantage in many positions. 



R.glabra, or smooth sumach, is one of the best known 

 species in this country, being found along the borders of 

 woods or growing freely in dry and sterile situations, often 

 taking possession of entire fields and holding them with 

 such tenacity, through its deeply extending roots, as not 

 to be easily dislodged. It is a low-growing, spreading 

 bush with irregular branches and a rather unshapely form, 

 but is, nevertheless, of considerable horticultural value. 

 The leaves are compound, often a foot or more long, with 

 from fifteen to thirty-one leaflets on a large smooth stalk. 

 The leaflets are nearly or quite sessile, oblong, and pointed 

 at the apex, though rounded at the base. The blossoms 

 are in large and much-branched heads at the ends of the 

 stems, and of from ten to twelve inches extension. They 

 are greenish-yellow and slightly fragrant. In the autumn 

 the foliage becomes brilliantly crimson, and the heads of 

 fruit, made up of velvety berries arranged in cones or 

 spikes, are among the most showy productions of the field 

 or forest. When growing in masses, especially if looked 



