228 SUMAC FAMILY 



small, polygamous, calyx 5-cleft or 5-parted, petals 5, spreading, stamens 

 5, inserted between the lobes of the disk, ovary 1 -celled, 1 ovule, styles 3; 

 fruit a kind of dry drupe, small, 1 -seeded. 



A genus of about 1 20 species, natives of warm and temperate regions. 

 The greatest number of species occur in South Africa. In addition to the 

 following about 12 more species occur in the eastern, southern and west- 

 ern parts of the United States. 



Key to the Species 



1. Erect shrubs or trees, leaflets more than 3 



a. Leaflets serrate, toothed or deeply lobed or 



cut 



( 1 ) Twigs and petioles hairy 



(a) Leaflets serrate R. typhi na 



(b) Leaflets deeply cut or lobed R. typhina var. 



laciniata 



(2) Twigs and petioles smooth and glaucous 



(a) Leaflets serrate R. glabra 



(b) Leaflets deeply cut or lobed R. glabra var. 



laciniata 



b. Leaflets entire, fruit white R. Vernix 



2. Vines or low shrubs, leaflets 3 R. toxicodendron 



Rhus typhina Linne 1760 Staghorn Sumac 

 Rhus hirta Sudworth 1892 



A shrub or sometimes a small tree reaching a height of 10 m., more 

 commonly 3-4 m., bark smooth and gray, twigs densely velvety-hairy ; 

 leaves odd-pinnate, petioles pubescent, 15-30 cm. long, leaflets 11-31, ob- 

 long-lanceolate, rounded at the base, acuminate at the apex, sharply and 

 sometimes coarsely serrate, dark green and nearly glabrous above, paler 

 and pubescent beneath, sessile, 4-14 cm. long, 1.5-4.5 cm. broad; pani< K -s 

 terminal, dense-flowered, 9-12 cm. long, flowers yellowish-green, polyg- 

 amous, 5-6 mm. broad; drupe globose, about 4 mm. in diameter, thickly 

 covered with bright crimson, straight hairs: typhina, smoky. 



In dry rocky soil. Occurs in the eastern part of the state from the 

 southern boundary northward to the Canadian border, extending west in- 

 to the Big Woods and to Martin County. Common in Pine County and 

 westward to Mille Lacs and Cass County. Distributed from eastern 

 .Quebec to southern Georgia, west to Minnesota, Mo. and Miss. The 

 wood is soft, greenish-yellow, weighing 27 lbs. The bark is rich in tannin. 



