Trees of New York State 283 



ANAGARDIACEAE 



Rhus cDpallina L. 



Dwarf Sumach 



Habit ^ — -In the north usually a shrub 5-8 feet t<all, spreading by means of 

 root-suckers, and often forming extensive copses in pastures and aban- 

 doned fields, occasionally a small tree 20-30 feet in height ^vith a short, 

 usually oblique trunk 8-10 inches in diameter bearing a wide-spreading 

 crown of stout branches. 



Leaves — Alternate, odd-pinnately compound, 6-12 inches long, consisting of 

 9-21 sessile or nearly sessile leaflets arranged in pairs along a winged, 

 rachis. Leaflets oblong to ovate-lanceolate, IV^-'^V-i inches long, acute at 

 the apex, cuneate and usually inequilateral at the base, entire or remotely 

 serrulate above the middle, at maturity thick, dark lustrous green and. 

 glabrous above except on the midrib, paler and. pubescent below. 



Flowers — Appearing in late June or July after the leaves are full grown, 

 dioecious, yellowish green, borne in short, compact, pubescent, terminal 

 or axillarj' panicles 4—6 inches long, the staminate panicles usually the 

 larger. Calyx 5-lobed, the lobes ovate, acute, puberulous on the inner sur- 

 face. Petals ovate, acute, greenish yellow, at anthesis reflexed above the 

 middle. Disk red, conspicuous. Stamens 5, exserted, with slender fila- 

 ments and orange-colored anthers. Pistil consisting of an ovate, pubes- 

 cent ovary surmounted by 3 stout, spreading styles terminated by capi- 

 tate stigmas. Vestigial organs occur in flowers of both sexes. 



Fruit — ^ An oval or slightly ovate, somewhat compressed, thin-fleshed, bright 

 red drupe about % of an inch in diameter, covered with close, glandular 

 pubescence, borne in stout, pubescent clusters, ripening in the early 

 autumn but persisting on the trees into the -Nvinter and following spring. 

 Pit soniewhat reniform, orange-brown, smooth. 



Winter characters — Twigs medium stout, tapering and somewhat zigzag, 

 pubescent, reddish brown with prominent leaf-scars and conspicuous len- 

 ticels, exuding a watery juice when broken, usually winter-killing through 

 several nodes. Terminal bud absent. Lateral buds small, spherical, cov- 

 ered with rusty bro^vn hairs, superposed above the leaf-scar. Mature bark 

 thin, pale reddish brown, dotted with horizontal elongated lenticels, ex- 

 foliating tardily in large, papery scales. 



Habitat — Dry sandy soils on hillsides, ridges, and in abandoned fields and 

 pastures, often forming extensive thickets, more rarely on rich bottom 

 lands. 



Range — Central Maine westward through southern Ontario and Michigan 

 to eastern Xebraska, southward to Florida and Texas. 



Uses — ■ Not a timber species because of its small size. Widely used as an 

 ornamental shrub in the parks and cemeteries of eastern United States 

 and prized for its dark green, lustrous leaves which turn a rich maroon 

 in the autumn, for its small stature, and persisting, showy fruit-clusters. 



