Rhus lyphina, 
THE ANTIFEBRILE RHUS. 
Synonymes. 
Rhus typhina, 
Sumac de Virginie, 
Virginischer Sumach, Farberbaum, 
Sommacco peloso, Sorbo salvatico, 
Zumaque de Virginia, 
Stag-horn Sumach, Virginian Sumach, 
[ Linn-eus, Species Plantarum. 
De Candolle, Prodromus. 
- Don, Miller's Dictionary. 
Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 
k Torrey and Gray, Flora of North America. 
France. 
Germany. 
Italy. 
Spain. 
Britain and Anolo- America. 
Derivations. The specific name, typhina, is derived from the Greek tuphos, stupor or senselessness, on account of the roots 
of this shrub being used in medicine as a febrifuge. The German name, Farberbaum, signifies Dyer's-tree. 
Engravings. Du Hamel, Traite des Arbres et Arbustes, ii., pi. 47 ; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, ii., figure 224 ; and the 
figures below. 
Specific Characters. Leaf of 810 pairs of leaflets, and the odd one, that are lanceolate, acuminate, ser- 
rated, hairy beneath. Petiole and branches hairy. De Candolle, Prodromus. 
Description. 
\ |p^^||HE Rhus typhina, in its arbo- 
h H ^ rescent form, attains a height 
J M, of ten to twenty-five feet, 
n^m although under some circum- 
stances it dwindles down to a mere shrub, from 
ten to two feet in height. Its stem is woody, with 
a summit composed of numerous irregular branches, 
generally crooked and deformed. The young 
shoots are covered with a soft, velvet-like down, 
resembling that of the new horns of the stag, 
both in colour and texture. The leaves are large, 
slightly downy beneath, and are distinguished in 
autumn, before they fall, by changing to a purplish 
or yellowish-red. The flowers appear in June, 
and are of a greenish-yellow. They are produced 
in close spikes at the ends of the branches, and are 
succeeded by drupes or berries, densely clothed 
with crimson hairs, which soon become conspicu- 
ous, and remain upon the tree during winter. 
Varieties. There are many varieties of this species in North America, and 
from the confusion existing in botanical works, it is often difficult to decide 
which are species or which are varieties in this genus. The following races, 
however, appear to be sufficiently distinct, to be classed under the present head. 
1 . R. t. viridiflora. Green-flowered Sumach, with green flowers in upright 
racemes. 
2. R. t. glabra. Glabrous Rhus, or Scarlet Sumach, with glabrous leaves, 
and fruit covered with red, silky hairs. 
3. R. t. hermaphrodita, with hermaphrodite sexes, glabrous leaves, and green- 
ish flowers. 
4. R. t. dioica, with dioecious sexes, glabrous leaves, and greenish flowers. 
