110 



ANACARDIACE^. Rhus. 



the base of the cell. — Shrubs or small trees; leaves simple or pinnate; flowers 

 small, polygamous or polygamo-dioecious, in axillary and terminal bracteate pan- 

 icles, or sometimes in racemes or spikes. 



A widely distributed genus of at least 120 species, natives of tlie warmer extra-tropical regions 

 of both hemispheres, most numerous in S. Africa. There are 14 species in the United States, 

 differin'^ considerably in their characters and so distributed into five sections. The astnngent 

 leaves o1" some species of the section Sumac (not represented in California) are extensively used in 

 tanning, and the resinous juice of others in Japan yields the peculiar well-known lacquer of that 

 country, and the fruit a useful vegetable wax or tallow. 



§ 1. Flowers polyf/amous or dioecious, in loose axillary panicles : frtiit glabrous and 

 whitish; nut striate: leaves 3-foliolate : juice and effluvium jioisonous. — Toxi- 



CODENDROX. 



1. R. diversiloba, Torr. & Gray. (Poison Oak. Yeara.) Usually somewhat 

 puberulent, the slender shrubby stem erect, or stonter and climbing by rootlets, 3 

 to 8 feet high : leaflets ovate, obovate, or elliptical, 1 to 3 inches long, obtuse or 

 acutish, 3-lobed or coarsely-toothed or sometimes entire, the lobes and teeth obtuse : 

 panicles peduncled : flowers wliitish, U lines long : fruit 2 to 3 lines in diameter, 

 somewhat compressed. — Fl. i. 218; Lindl. Bot. Eeg. xxxi, t. 38. R. lohata, 

 Hook. Fl. i. 127, t. 46. 



From Southern California to British Columbia, in this State most abundant in the Coast 

 Ean<^es It resembles R. Toxicodendron, Linn., of the Atlantic States, which differs, however, 

 in it* acuminate leaflets, sharply toothed or entire, and nearly sessile panicles, usually more dense 

 in fruit. The species are alike very poisonous, causing a severe cutaneous eruption accompanied 

 by intense smarting and itching. The reputed remedies are more numerous than efficacious ; 

 prominent among those in popular use is said to be the bruised leaves or a decoction of the leaves 

 of Grindcliaov "Gum-plant." 

 § 2. Flowers polygamo-dioecious, in short sessile seal y-hracted spikes, preceding the 



leaves: fruit globose, villous, light red; nut smooth: leaves 3-foliolate. — 



LOBADIUM, Eaf. 



2. R. aromatica, Ait., var. trilobata, Gray. A shrub, 2 to 5 feet high, dif- 

 fusely branched, strongly scented, more or less pubescent, at length nearly glabrous : 

 leaflets sessile, cnneate-obovate or rhomboidal, 1 or 2 inches long, exceeding the 

 petiole, coarsely toothed above and often 3 lobed, the segments obtuse : spikes half 

 an inch long or less, approximate at the ends of the branches : flowers yellowisji, a 

 line long : fruit somewhat viscid, 2 or 3 hnes in diameter. — Watson, Bot. King 

 Exp. 53. B. trilobata, Nutt. in Torr. & Gray, Fl. i. 219. 



Throughout the State, ranging to Washington Territory and eastward to the Rocky Mountains 



and Texas. The typical form of the Atlantic States has tlie leaves ordinarily larger and less 



lobed, and the odor of the plant is perhaps more aromatic. The fruit is said to be pleasantly acid, 



and is eaten by the Indians : the slender twigs are used in their choicest basket-work. 



§ 3. Flowers polygamous, on bracted pedicels in numerous short dense racemes closely 



panicidaie at the ends of the branches: sepcds orbicular, concave, colored: fruit 



densely pubescent and very viscid, dark red : leaves simple, coriaceous. — 



Styphonia, Benth. & Hook. (Styphonia, ISTutt.) 



3. R. integrifolia, Benth. & Hook. A diff"usely branched stout evergreen 

 shrub, .5 to 10 feet bigh : leaves puberulent when young, soon glabrous, broadly 

 ovate, acute or obtuse, usually entire but sometimes spinosely toothed, IJ to 3 

 inches long, on short stout petioles : flowers rose-colored, in close panicles 1 to 3 

 inches long : petals rounded, ciliate, exceeding the sepals, 1| lines long: fruit ovate, 

 3 lines long. — Gen. PI. i. 419. Styphonia integrifolia, Nutt. in Torr. & Gmy, 

 Fl. i. 220 & Sylva, iii. 4, t. 82 ; Torrey, Pacif. E. Rep. vii. 9, t. 2. aS'. serrata, 

 Nutt. ; Torr. & Gray, Fl. i. 220. 



From Santa Barbara to San Diego, mostly on the coast ; western Arizona, Palmer, Wheeler. 

 Along the cliff's near the sea it forms close thickets, sometimes on the seaward side presenting a 



