72 



TEREBINTHACEvE. XVII. RHUS. 



-' I R. JAVA'NICA (Lin. spec. 380.) leaflets 5-7 pairs, ovate- 

 oblong, acuminated, bluntly-toothed, tomentose beneath ; pe- 

 tioles submarginate ; panicle terminal, tomentose. >? . G. Na- 

 tive of Japan and China, but introduced to Java. R. semialata, 

 var. ft, Osbeckii, D. C. prod. 2. p. 67. 



Java Sumach. Clt. 1799. Tree 30 feet. 



R. CIIINE'KSIS (Mill. diet. no. 7.) leaves with 3 or 4 pairs 

 of leaflets ; petioles membranous, and are, as well as the 

 branches, clothed with downy villi; leaflets ovate, bluntly-ser- 

 iated. T; . G. Native of China. 



Chinese Sumach. Clt. 1800. Shrub 5 to C fret. 



26 R. AME'LA (D. Don, prod. fl. nep. 248.) leaves with 6-7 

 pairs of leaflets ; petioles with a narrow wing ; leaflets ellip- 

 tical, acuminated, serrated, sessile, odd one only stalked, all 

 covered with greyish-down beneath. fj . F. .Native ofNipaul, 

 at Narainhetty. R. Bucki-amelam, Roxb. hort. beng. p. 22. 

 Flowers dioecious, disposed in large terminal panicles. Berries 

 silky. Leaves 1-2 feet long. Bucku-amela is the vernacular 

 name of the tree. 



Bucku-Amela Sumach. Clt. 1823. Tree 40 feet. 



27 R. PAUCIFLORA (Lin. fil. suppl. 183.) leaves pinnate; pe- 

 tioles winged, covered with very fine villi ; leaflets alternate, 

 wedge-shaped, serrated at the apex ; panicles sessile, few-flow- 

 ered. '? . G. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. Thunb. fl. 

 cap. 2. p. 225. 



Fen-Jlon<cred Sumach. Shrub 6 feet. 



28 R. OBLI'QUA (Thunb. fl. cap. 2. p. 224.) leaves with many 

 pairs of smooth, ovate, quite entire, dimidiate leaflets. T? . G. 

 Native of the Cape of Good Hope. Flowers and fruit unknown. 

 Allied to R , pauciflbra. 



OMr/ue-leafletted Sumach. Clt. 1825. Shrub 6 feet. 



29 R. ALA'TA (Thunb. fl. cap. 2. p. 225.) leaves pinnate ; 

 petioles winged, tomentose ; leaflets alternate, ovate, serrated at 

 the apex ; peduncles axillary. fy . G. Native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. 



7r;.<r/-petioled Sumach. Clt. 1824. Shrub 10 feet. 



30 II. COPALLINA (Lin. spec. 380.) leaves of 5-7 pairs of leaf- 

 lets, which are smooth above, and rather pilose beneath ; petioles 

 winged, jointed; leaflets elliptic, quite entire. Tj . H. Native of 

 North America, in dry fields and woods, particularly in a sandy 

 soil, from New Jersey to Carolina. Jacq. hort. schcenb. 341. 

 Pluk. aim. t. 56. f. 1. Root stoloniferous. Flowers dioecious, 

 yellowish-green. Berries red. The leaves of this species change 

 to purple in the autumn, and are used as tobacco by the Indians 

 of the Missouri and Mississippi. 



Var. ft, leucuntha (Jacq. schoenb. t. 342.) root not stoloni- 

 ferous ; flowers white ; panicles more contracted. Tj.H. Na- 

 tive of North America. Leaflets many pairs, narrow. 



Gum Copal-like or Lentiscus-leaved Sumach. Fl. July, Aug. 

 Clt. 1688. Shrub 8 feet. 



31 R. TRI'JUGA (Poir. diet. 7. p. 508.) leaves with 3 pairs of 

 coriaceous ovate leaflets, which are pubescent beneath ; petioles 

 flat, striated. T? . S. Native of Brazil, at Rio Janeiro. Fruit 

 globose, shining. 



T/trce-jtaired-lcaved Sumach. Tree. 



2. Toxicodendron (from TO^IKOV, toxikon, poison, and ev- 

 dpov, dendron, a tree ; tree very poisonous). Tourn. iitst. t. 381. 

 Mcench. meth. 73. but not of Gcertn. nor Thunb Pocuphorum, 

 Neck, elein. no. 964. Leaves pinnately trifoliate, with the mid- 

 dle lea/let stalked. 



32 R. RADI'CANS (Lin. spec. 381.) leaflets ovate, smooth, 

 entire. T? . H. Native of North America, from Canada to 

 Georgia, common in all woods, fields, and along fences. Ber- 

 ries white. Flowers dioecious, greenish. 



Far. a, vulgaris (D. C. prod. 2. p. 69.) plant climbing and 



rooting ; leaflets large, entire or rarely toothed, ovate. R. Toxi- 

 codendron, var. a, vulgaro, Pursh. fl. amer. sep. 1. p, 205. 

 Sims, bot. mag. t. 1806. Duh. ed. nov. 2. t. 48. Toxico- 

 dendron vulgare, Mill. diet. This plant having in common 

 with ivy the quality of not rising without the support of 

 a wall, tree, or hedge ; it is called in some parts of Ame- 

 rica creeping ivy. It will climb to the top of high trees in 

 woods, the branches every where throwing out fibres, which 

 penetrate the trunk of the tree which it grows on. When the 

 stem is cut it emits a pale-brown s;ip, of a disagreeable scent, 

 and so sharp that letters or marks made upon linen cannot be 

 got out again, but grows blacker the more it is washed. I/ike 

 R. venennta it is poisonous to some persons, but in a less degree. 

 Kalm relates of two sisters, one could manage the tree without 

 being affected by its venom, while the other felt its exhalation 

 as soon as she came within 3 feet of it, or even when she stood 

 to windward of it, at a greater distance ; that it had not the least 

 effect upon him, though he had made many experiments upon 

 himself, and once the juice squirted into his eyes ; but that on 

 another person's hand, which he had covered very thick with it, 

 the skin a few hours afterwards became as hard as a piece of 

 tanned leather, and peeled ofF afterwards in scales. 



Far. ft, volubilis (D. C. prod. 2. p. 69.) stem climbing, 

 scarcely rooting ; leaflets ample, ovate. Toxicodendron volu- 

 bile, Mill. diet. 



Var. y, microcdrpa (D. C. prod. 2. p. 69.) leaflets oblong- 

 ovate, with long taper points ; fruit much smaller than in the 

 two preceding varieties. R. Toxicodendron microcarpon, Pursh. 

 fl. sept. amer. 1. p. 205. Dill. elth. t. 291. f. 375. 



These two last varieties possess the same poisonous qualities 

 as the first, but in a less degree. 



Rooting Poison-oak or Sumach. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1640. 

 Shrub creeping or climbing. 



33 R. TOXICODE'NDRON (Lin. spec. 381.) leaflets deeply- 

 angled or sinuated, pubescent. Tj . H. Native of North Ame- 

 rica, along with R. radicans. R. Toxicodendron quercifolium, 

 Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 182. Pursh. fl. sept. amer. 1. p. 205. 

 Toxicodendron pubescens, Mill. diet. no. 2. According to 

 Nuttal, this is a truly distinct species from the preceding. Per- 

 haps the T. serratum, Mill. diet, is a variety of this plant. 

 Flowers greenish. The juice of this tree is milky when it first 

 exudes, but becomes jet black by exposure to the air. It is 

 poisonous to the touch. It was first tried as a medicine by Dr. 

 Alderson of Hull, in imitation of experiments of M. Fresnoi, 

 with the Rims radicans. He gave it in four cases of paralysis in 

 doses of half a grain or a grain three times a day, and all his 

 patients recovered to a certain degree the use of their limbs. 

 The first symptom of amendment was always an unpleasant 

 feeling of prickling or twitching in the paralytic limbs. Dr. 

 Duncan has given it in larger doses without experiencing the 

 same success ; it was not however inactive. In one case the 

 patient discontinued its use on account of the disagreeable prick- 

 ing it occasioned, and in general it operated as a gentle laxative, 

 notwithstanding the torpid state of the bowels of such patients. 



Common Poison-tree or Poison-oak. Fl. June, July. Clt. 

 1640. Shrub creeping upon walls or trees. 



34 R. BAHAMF/NSIS ; leaflets ovate, acuminated, entire, lateral 

 ones oblique at the base, pubescent beneath, especially on the 

 nerves ; petioles and branches hairy ; racemes axillary, rather 

 compound, fy . H. Native of the Bahama Islands. The plant 

 is poisonous like the two preceding. 



Bahama Poison-tree. Fl. June, July. Shrub cr. or cl. 



35 R. LINEATIFOLIA (Ort. dec. p. 89.) leaflets ovate, acuminat- 

 ed, toothed, quite entire at the base, lined, with the edges rather 

 villous, lateral ones on short stalks, middle one on a long stalk ; 

 racemes axillary ; berries striped. Tj . S. Native of the Island 



