190 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



much smaller in all its parts. The leaflets are about 2 in. long, and ^ in. wide, 

 of a pale green, serrated, and in general appearance resembling the leaves of 

 the common elm. Culture as in R. typhina. 



31 6. R. coPALLi^NA Lin. 



The Gum Copal Rhus, o? Mastich-tree-leaved 

 Sumach. 



Jdentification. Lin. Spec, 380. ; Dec. Prod, 5. p. 68.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 72.; Tor. and Gray, 1. p. 217. 

 Engravings. Jacq. Hort. Schon., t. 341. ; Pluk. Aim., p. 56. f. 1. ; and our^i^. 287. 



Spec. Char., S(c. Leaf glabrous above, a little pilose beneath, of 5 7 pairs 

 of leaflets, and the odd one; leaHets lanceolate and entire. Petiole winged 

 and jointed. Root stoloniferous. Flowers yellow green. Sexes dioecious. 

 (Dec. Prod.) A deciduous shrub. Canada to Florida. Height 3 ft. to 8 ft. 

 Introduced in 1688. Flowers yellowish green; July and August Berries 

 red ; ripe in September. Decaying leaves purplish red. 



Varieties. Three forms are given by Torrey and Gray: a. Leaflets entire, 

 usually acuminate, which may be considered as the species : /3, leaflets 

 coarsely and unequally serrate: and y, leaflets (about 21) small, oblong, 

 acute at the base; obtuse and slightly mucronate at the apex; petiole nar 

 rowly winged. Jacquin has 



^ R. c, 2 leiicdntha Jac. Hort. 



Schon., t. 342. Root not 



stoloniferous. Panicles more 



contracted than in the 



species. 



The leaves and general habit of 

 the plant are those of R. typhina, 

 but it seldom grows to the height of 

 more than 4 or 3 feet in British 

 gardens. The branches are smooth, 

 and the leaflets entire with acute 

 points ; they are light green on both 

 sides, and in autumn change to a fine 

 purple. The petiole, as in R. Covi- 

 aria, is somewhat winged towards its 

 tip, which, with other circumstances, 

 induces us to think that they may both 

 be varieties of the same species. The 

 leaves are used as tobacco by the 

 Indians of the Missouri and the Mississippi. 



-* J. l.R. Toxicode'ndron L. 



Identification. Tor. and Gray, 1. p. 218. 

 , Toxicodendron, an( 

 ngraving. Our fig. 000. in p. 000. 



Spec. Char., c^c. Stem erect, decumbent, or climbing by radicles. Leaves 3- 

 foliolate, somewhat pubescent ; leaflets (membranaceous) broadly oval or 

 rhomboid, acuminate, entire or toothed, the lateral ones inequilateral. Pa- 

 nicles racemed, axillary, subsessile. Drupe subglobose, smooth. {Toirey and 

 Gray.) A low rambling or climbing shrub. Canada to Georgia, in shady 

 damp places. Stems 10 ft. to 20 ft. as a climber ; or 3 ft. to b ft. high as a 

 bush. Introduced in 1640. Flowers greenish, mostly dioecious; June and July. 

 Berry pale chestnut ; ripe in September. Decaying leaves purplish red. 



Varieties. The following forms are given by Torrey and Gray : 



-* R. T. I quercifdlium Tor. & Gray. R. T. /S guercifolium Michx. Not 

 climbing ; leaves entire, or variously and irregularly sinuatedly 

 toothed, or lobed. The R. Toxicodendron of the London gardens, 

 readily distinguished from the two following varieties, by its deeply 

 sinuated, or almost pinnatifid, leaflets. It grows to the height of 



287. Rhus copalllna. 



The Poison-Tree Rhus, or Sumach. 



Synonymes. R. Toxicodendron, and R. radlcans L., Dec, Don's Mill., S[C. 

 En ' ^ - ""' 



