150 THE SHRUBS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



sparingly upon shaded rivulets in the Middle and 

 Upper Districts. It is 3 to 5 feet high, and the 

 branches have such a tough and pliable bark that 

 they make excellent ligatures, for which they were 

 used by the Indians, and from which the shrub de- 



:; rives its name. The fruit is a small reddish berry. 

 Carolina Buckthorn. (Frangula Caroliniana, 

 Gray.) — A thornless shrub, 4 to 6 feet high, belong- 

 ing to moderately fertile soils in the Middle and 

 Lower Districts, but rare in the latter. The leaves are 

 3 or 4 inches long, 1 or 2 wide, dark green, smooth and 

 shining, and ribbed with very straight parallel veins. 

 The berry is blackish, of the size of a small pea. 



V 1. Sumach. (Rhus copallina, Linn.) — Very com- 

 mon throughout the State, usually 6 to 10 feet high, 

 sometimes a small tree 15 feet high, readily distin- 

 guished by its common leaf-stem being margined or 

 winged between the leaflets. The crimson hairs on 

 the berries possess a strong acid, (said to be Malic,) 

 an infusion of which, with sugar, makes an agreeable 

 cooling beverage, and, without sugar, is a very use- 

 ful gargle for weak or sore throats. 



2. Smooth Sumach. (R. glabra, Linn.) — This is 

 6 to 10 feet high, growing in the Middle and Upper 

 Districts, and is remarkably smooth in all its parts. A 

 milky juice issues from the wounded bark. The large 

 clusters of red fruit are more compact than in No. 1, 

 having an acid secretion as in that. The branches 

 and leaves are astringent, and are used for tanning. 



3. Staghorn Sumach. (R typhina, Linn.) — Be- 



