186 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



also more or less tinged with red. The fruit is round, not succulent, and 

 somewhat furrowed ; at first green, and afterwards reddish; but black, or of a 

 very dark blue, when ripe. The leaves and flowers emit a very resinous odour, 

 which spreads to a considerable distance, more especially at sunset, when 

 the dew is falling, after a very warm day. The substance called Venice 

 or Chian turpentine is the resin which exudes from this tree. In British 

 gardens, the tree is not very common, though it is generally considered as the 

 hardiest of the genus; and, with P. vera, may be planted in warm sheltered 

 situations in the open border. 



t 3. P. LEVTI'SCUS L. The Mastich Tree. 



Identification. Lin. Spec., 1455. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. G5. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. G6. 



Synonyme. Corno capra, Ital. 



Engravings. Woodv. Med. Bot., t. 152. ; and our fig 280. 



Spec. C/iar., fyc. Evergreen. Leaves abruptly pinnate ; leaflets 8, lanceolate ; 

 petiole winged. (Dec. Prod.) An evergreen tree. Southern Europe, 

 Northern Africa, and the Levant. Height 20 ft. Introduced in 1664. 

 Flowers green ; April and May. Fruit brownish ; ripe in October. 



Varieties. 



1 P. L. 2 angustifolia Dec., P. massiliensis Mill. Diet., P. angustifolia 

 massiliensis Tourn., has leaflets almost linear, and the tree seldom 

 exceeds 10ft. in height. 

 5 P. L. 3 chia N. Du Ham. iv. p. 72. ; P. 

 chia Desf. Cat. Hort. Par. A native of 

 Scio, where it produces the mastich. 



The species bears a general resemblance to the 

 two preceding ones, in summer, when they are 

 clothed with foliage ; but it differs from them in 

 being evergreen, and in having the leaves much 

 smaller. The leaves have sometimes 5 leaflets on 

 each side ; and the petioles are so much winged 

 as to appear like pinnas. The tree in the South 

 of Europe, and the North of Africa, is cultivated 

 in gardens, as well as found in a wild state ; but 

 in British gardens it is not so hardy as P. TQ- 

 rebfnthus, and north of London should always 

 be planted against a wall. 2 so. pkt&da /Discus. 



Other Species of Pistdcia. P. atldntica Desf., a deciduous tree from Mount 

 Atlas, is said to have been introduced in 1.790, but it requires the protection 

 of a frame or green-house. 



GENUS H. 



TJHU'S L. THE RHUS, or SUMACH. Lin. Syst. Pentandria Trigynia and 

 Dioe v cia Pentandria. 



Identification. Lin. Gen., 369. ; Lam. 111., t. 207.; Kunth Gen. Tereb.,p. 5.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 66. ; 

 Don's Mill., 2. p. 61. and p. 69. 



Synonymes. Sumach, Fr. and Ger. ; Ru, Ital. 



Derivation. From rhoos, or rhous, Greek, or from rhudd, or rud, Celtic, red ; in allusion to the 

 colour of the fruit and leaves of some of the species in autumn. Others derive /Zhus from the 

 Greek verb rheo, I run, from the habit of the roots running and spreading under ground to a 

 considerable distance from the tree. Sumach is derived from Simaq, the Arabic name of the 

 plant. 



Gen. Cliar. Sexes hermaphrodite, dioecious, or polygamous. Calyx small, 

 5-parted, persistent. Petals ovate, and inserted into a calycine disk, or 

 into the calyx. Stamens 5, inserted into a calycine disk. * Ovary single, 



