RHUS VERNIX, L. 137 



Fruit. Drupes about as large as peas, smooth, more or less 

 glossy, whitish; stone ridged; strongly resembling the fruit 

 of R. Toxicodendron (poison ivy). 



Horticultural Value. No large shrub or small tree, so 

 attractive as this, does so well in wet ground ; it grows 

 also in any good soil, but it is seldom advisable to use it, on 

 account of its noxious qualities. It can be obtained only from 

 collectors of native plants. 



Note. This sumac has the reputation of being the most 

 poisonous of New England plants. The treacherous beauty of 

 its autumn leaves is a source of grief to collectors. Many are 

 seriously affected, without actual contact, by the exhalation of 

 vapor from the leaves, by grains of pollen floating in the air, 

 and even by the smoke of the burning wood. 



It is easily distinguished from the other sumacs. The leaf- 

 lets are not toothed like those of R. typhina (staghorn 

 sumac) and R. glabra (smooth sumac) ; it is not pubescent 

 like R. typhina and R. copallina (dwarf sumac) ; the rachis 

 of the compound leaf is not wing-margined as in R. copallina ; 

 the panicles of flower and fruit are not upright and compact, 

 but drooping and spreading ; the fruit is not red-dotted with 

 dense crimson hairs, but is smooth and whitish. Unlike the 

 other sumacs, it grows for the most part in lowlands and 

 swamps. 



In the vicinity of Southington, southern Connecticut, Rhus 

 copallina is occasionally found with a trunk 5 or 6 inches in 

 diameter (C. H. Bissell). 



PLATE LXIX. RHUS VERNIX. 



1. Winter buds. 



2. Branch with sterile flowers. 



3. Sterile flower. 



4. Branch with fertile flowers. 



5. Fertile flower. 



ti. Fruiting branch. 



