ANACARDIACEAE 221 



leaflets usually 11-15, ovate-oblong, pointed, rounded or broadly euneate 

 at the base, entire, short stalked, more or less densely pubescent when 

 young, 8-15 cm. long. Flowers small, yellowish-white, in loose panicles 

 from the axils of the leaves near the ends of the shoots, about 25 cm. long 

 or longer. Fruit about 6 mm. wide (5-8 mm.), smooth, numerous, shiny 

 yellow. 



Wild in the mountains of Szechuan and Hupeh, also very extensively 

 planted. This is a handsome tree, sometimes reaching 100 feet high, with 

 graceful foliage turning into red and orange in the autumn. The sap 

 wood is white, the heart wood yellow; the wood is only good for fuel. 

 The seeds are expressed for the oil, which is used as an illuminant and to 

 adulterate Tung Oil. The tree, however, is chiefly noted for the lacquer 

 varnish which it yields, and it is planted throughout Central China for 

 this valuable product. The varnish is obtained by incisions on the trunk; 

 the syrupy substance flowing from the wound is collected in bamboo or 

 other receptacles. As it flows from the tree, the sap is white, but it soon 

 changes to greenish-gray, and finally black if not protected from exposure 

 to the air. Tapping may begin when the tree is 5 or 6 years old, and 

 continues at definite intervals, alternating with periods of rest, until it 

 is 50 or 60 years old. Another method is to make numerous incisions on 

 the trunk and branches of young trees, about 10 years of age, and 

 collect the sap so long as it continues to flow, then the main branches are 

 cut off and steamed to extract whatever sap they may still contain, but 

 this process kills the tree in one season. Rhus verniciflua may be propagated 

 by seeds and by cuttings. The seeds are deprived of their covering by 

 pounding in a mortar, then they are put in straw bags and left to soak 

 in water or liquid manure throughout the winter. After thorough drying, 

 they are sown in seed beds in the following spring. Root cuttings make 

 more rapid growth but produce slightly less vigorous and short-lived 

 trees. Roots about 1/2 inch in diameter taken from young trees are cut 

 into 6 inch lengths, planted in a slanting position with 1 to 2 inches 

 projecting above ground in prepared beds in early spring. In one year 

 they produce shoots about 2 feet long. 



Rhus verniciflua will grow on rocky soil and barren slopes. 



Rhus succedanea Linnseus. 

 Wax Tree. 



Shrub or small tree to 10 m. high, with irregularly fissured, thin gray 

 bark. Leaflets 7-15, elliptic-oblong to lanceolate, acuminate, euneate, 



