RED OR REDDISH PURPLE 91 



Leaves. The leaves are compound and odd- 

 pinnate, with from eleven to thirty-one leaflets. 

 The petioles are red above and green below and 

 densely covered with hairs. The leaves are 

 alternate. The leaflets are oblong-lanceolate, 

 sessile, sharply serrate, acute at the tip and 

 rounded at the base. They are paler beneath and 

 hairy. The autumnal colors are brilliant; red, 

 yellow, and orange. 



Flowers. The sterile and fertile flower pani- 

 cles are usually on different plants, although they 

 are occasionally on the same one. They are 

 greenish yellow. June, July. 



Rhus hirta is sometimes called Velvet Sumac, 

 and appropriately so, for branches and stalks 

 are so densely coated with soft hairs as to 

 resemble, both to the sight and touch, a velvet 

 covering. This hairy appearance, together with 

 the irregularly forked branches, somewhat re- 

 sembling the horns of a young stag, has given 

 rise to its other popular name, Staghorn Sumac. 



It sometimes reaches the stature of a small 

 tree. The brilliancy of its autumnal foliage is 

 a great addition to the hills which it frequents. 

 Sometimes a whole pasture is aglow with it. 

 For two successive springs I have seen my first 



