KHUS 



SUMACH ORDER 



PISTACIA 321 



in autumn and winter. The variety arlor- 

 esceiis has leaves slightly downy beneath ; 

 and /ntiescems downy and whitish beneath. 

 CiUiure Ac. as above. 



R. venenata(JJ. vernix) . — Poison Elder, 

 Sumach, or Dogwood.— A very poisonous 

 but handsome N. American tree 6-18 ft. 

 high, with rather smooth leaves composed 

 of 7-13 obovate-oblong entire leaflets. 

 Flowers in July, green, in loose slender 

 axillary panicles. The female plants oc- 

 casionally produce ripe seeds contained 

 in small Pea-Uke berries which hang 

 down in graceful clusters in autumn. 



Culture Sc. as above. Great care 

 shovdd be taken not to let the juice of 

 this plant touch the hands or any part of 

 the body, as it is quite as poisonous as B. 

 Toxicodendron. 



R. vemicifera {Japam Lacquer or Var- 

 nish Tree). — A Japanese tree 30 ft. high 

 with Walnut-like leaves, having 11-13 

 elliptic acute entire leaflets, smooth above, 

 with a velvety down beneath. Flowers 

 in June, greenish-yellow. 



Culture lie. as above. This is a very 

 graceful shrub, and will survive an ordi- 

 nary winter out of doors, except, perhaps, 

 in the bleakest and coldest parts of the 

 British Islands. It likes a warm sheltered 

 situation and plenty of sunshine. 



PISTACIA.— A genusof half a dozen 

 evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs 

 abounding in resinous juice, with alternate 

 leaves, with or without an odd leaflet 

 at the apex, sometimes 3-foliolate. 

 Flowers small without petals, dioecious, in 

 axillary clusters. Calyx 5-cleft or parted 

 in the male flowers ; 3-4 in the female 

 ones. Stamens 5, very short ; absent in 



the female flowers. Fruit a dry one-seeded 

 drupe. 



Culture and Propagation. — The Pis- 

 tacias thrive in a rich, deep, sandy loam 

 in sheltered situations against a wall. 

 They may be increased by layers or cut- 

 tings of the ripened shoots inserted in 

 autumn under a handUght or in gentle 

 heat. As garden plants the Pistacias are 

 not of great value, although they are im- 

 portant from an economical point of view. 

 P. atlantica. — An evergreen tree, 40 ft. 

 high, native of the Canary Islands, with 

 oddly pinnate leaves, leaflets tapering to 

 the base. 



Culture Ac. as above. 

 P. Lentiscus {Mastich Tree). — Native 

 of S. Europe 20 ft. high, with abruptly 

 pinnate leaves, having winged stalks and 

 lance-shaped leaflets. Flowers in spring, 

 green. This plant yields the drug Mastioh. 

 The variety angusUfolia has almost linear 

 leaflets ; in chia they are ovate. 

 Culture Ac. as above. 

 P. Terebinthus {Turpentine Tree). — 

 A deciduous tree 30 ft. high, native of S. 

 Eiirope, with numerous ovatelance-shaped 

 leaflets, of a beautiful reddish hue when 

 young. Flowers in June, greenish, with 

 dull yellow anthers and crimson stigmas. 

 The Ohian or Cyprus Turpentine is 

 obtained from this tree by making in- 

 cisions in the trunk. 

 Culture Ac. as above. 

 P. vera {Pistachio Nut Tree). — A de- 

 ciduous Syrian tree, 20 ft. high, with 

 pinnate leaves, and ovate leaflets tapering 

 at the base. Flowers in AprU, brownish- 

 green. Fruits about 1 in. long, ovate, 

 reddish, with an oblique point. 

 Culture Ac. as above. 



XXXVII. CORIARIEiE 



An order of unarmed shrubs with angled branches and usually opposite ovate 

 heart-shaped or lance-shaped leaves, 1-5-nerved, entire, smooth, vyithout sti- 

 pules. Pedicels axillary or racemose, with small greenish hermaphrodite or 

 almost polygamous flowers. Sepals 5. Petals 5, shorter than the sepals, 

 hypogynous, fleshy, keeled outside. Stamens 10, hypogynous, free, or adnate 

 to the keel of the petals. Carpels 5-10, distinct, more or less fleshy. 



known. There are, however, a few other 



CORIARIA.^This is the only genus 

 of the order, and its botanical characters 

 are as described above. It contains five 

 or six species, but the one described below 

 is the only hardy one at present much 



species in cultivation, viz. C. nepalensis 

 from the Himalayas, and C. thymifolia 

 from Peru ; C.japonioa and C. terminaUs 

 from Japan. 



