274 



ANACARD1ACEAE (CASHEW FAMILY) 



"Berries white, dread the sight; 

 Berries red, have no dread," 



used to be repeated in distinguishing the harmless sumacs from their 

 "dreaded" relative, which is a shrub six to twenty feet in height, 

 and hardly to be called a weed, but included here since, because of 

 its beautiful autumnal coloring, it is frequently brought from its 



home in the swamps for house 

 decoration usually to the ex 

 ceeding great bodily distress 

 of the person who plucked it, 

 for it is even more poisonous 

 than its relative, Poison Ivy. 

 (Fig. 191.) 



Leaves pinnately compound, 

 the leaflets seven to thirteen, 

 obovate, smooth, thin, entire, 

 green on both sides, the slen- 

 der petiole slightly swollen at 

 the base. Flowers in axillary 

 clusters three to eight inches 

 long, very small, greenish white, 

 similar to those of Poison Ivy. 

 Fruit a cluster of greenish white, 



FIG. 



191. Poison Sumac (Rhus Ver- 

 nix). X J. 



Poison Ivy. 

 the same. 



waxy drupes, each with one 

 hard, ridgy seed within, like 

 Remedies for the effects of its poisonous touch are 



POISON IVY 



Rhus Toxicodendron, L. 

 (Rhus radicans, L.) 



Other English names: Poison Oak, Poison Creeper, Three-leaved 



Ivy, Climath, Black Mercury, Markweed. 

 Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds and by rootstocks. 

 Time of bloom : Late May to July. 

 Seed-time : Fruits attain full size in August but remain on the stem 



until late in winter. 

 Range: Nova Scotia to British Columbia, southward to Florida, 



Arkansas, and Utah. 

 Habitat: Roadsides and waste places, fence rows, and borders of 



woods. 



