RHUS. 



our gardens for a century paft, but is not common. Kalm 

 fpeaks of its dangerous effe&s, to various perfons, whofe 

 (kin, and wliole body, in fome cafes, are affe&ed with inflam- 

 mation, fwelling and pain, in confequence of their touching 

 any part of this tree, or expofing themfelves to its effluvia ; 

 whilft others, even of the fame family, can cut or handle it 

 with impunity. Kalm himfelf was generally unhurt by this 

 poifon, but on one occaiion he did not entirely efcapeits ef- 

 fects. The whole tree is very fmooth. Leaflets about fix 

 pair witli an odd one. Berries the fize of a pea, white and 

 remarkably polifhed, both in a frefh and dry ftate. Miller 

 contended that this was the fame with the true V:\rnifh-tree 

 of Japan, delcribed in Kismpfer's Am. Exot. 791. t. 792 ; 

 which opinion was combatted by Ellis, in the Philofophical 

 Tranfailions, n. 112. We believe the latter to be in the 

 right. The two trees, indeed, feem very nearly akin, but 

 the leaflets in K^mpfer'a plate are broader than thofe of the 

 American plant, nor does his defcription of the fruit exactly 

 anfwer. Yet Thunberg calls the Japanefe plant Rhus Ver- 

 nix. Nothing feems to be known iii America, as to the 

 tree in queltion affording any varnifh, though that point is 

 certainly worth enquiry, considering its near rclationfhip, at 

 lealt, to one whofe produce is fo valuable. Kasmpfer fpeaks 

 of the poifonous effects of the effluvia of his varnifh-tree, 

 like what we have related of the other. 



Section 2. Leaves ternate er quinate. Eighteen fpecies. 



R. Toxicodendron. Trailing poifon-oak, or Sumach. 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 381. Willd. n. 17. Ait. n. 11. Purfh n. 7. 

 (Edera trifolia canadenfis ; Cornut. Canad. 96. t. 97. Bar- 

 rel. Ic. t. 228.) /S. R. radicans ; Linn. Sp. PL 381. 

 Willd. n. 16. Ait. n. 10. Kalm's Travels, v. I. 67. 177. 

 (Toxicodendron triphyllum glabrum ; Duham. Arb. v. 2. 

 341. t. 98.) — Leaves ternate ; leaflets ftalktd, ovate, angu- 

 lar, cut, or crenate. Stem creeping. — Common in woods, 

 fields, and hedges, from Canada to Georgia, flowering in 

 June and July. Purjh. We readily concur with Mr. Purfh, 

 in confidering theie two Linnxan fpecies as mere varieties. 

 The leaves when young are more downy beneath, in fome 

 indances than in others ; but that character, as well as their 

 notches, is certainly variable. We fpeak with confidence on 

 this fubjeit, having been at no fmall trouble formerly, to de- 

 termine which was the plant recommended in paralytic and 

 rheumatic complaints, by fome eminent phyiicians in Eng- 

 land and France ; and after much examination, finding no 

 certain or permanent difference between the two. Kalm 

 fpeaks of the poifonous qualities of the prefent fpecies, as 

 like thofe of R. Vernix ; but it had no effeft on him, even 

 when he made the rafh experiment of dropping the juice into 

 his eye. Thejlem never grows erect, but when it meets with 

 fupport, will climb, like ivy, to the tops of the loftieft trees. 

 The leaflets are of a broad, ovate, or rhomboidal form, 

 pointed, always more cr lefs downy, at leafl about the ribs, 

 and fometinr-s q site covered with foft down at the back ; 

 their margin occafionally aimed entire, but nioft gene:- . , 

 in the downy variety, Wrongly crenate, cut, or lobed. 

 Flowers in compound axillary cluders, greenifh, dioecious. 

 Ben us white. Both varieties have long been known in our 

 gardens, but have nothing to recommend them to general 

 culture, even were they unexceptionable as to danger. 



R. tomentcfum. Woolly-leaved Cape Sumach. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 382. Willd. n. 24. Ait. n. 15. (Vitex trifolia 

 minor mdica ferrata; Commel. Hort. v. 1. 179. t. 92.) — 

 Leaves ternate ; leaflets ftalked, rhomboid, fomewhat angu- 

 lar ; white and very downy beneath. — Native of the Cape 

 of Good Hope. It was introduced very early bv the Dutch, 

 into the European gardens, but we know not whether it has 

 been preferved, or noticed, though an extremely handfome 

 S 



evergreen fhrub, the backs of whofe leaves are elegantly- 

 white and downy, with reddifh veins. We know nothing of 

 the f.ower s or fruit. Commelin miitook this plant for the 

 Ealt Indian Vitex trifolia. 



Several other three-leaved fpecies of Rhus, from the 

 Cape, elegant evergreen fhiiiing-leaved fhrubs, are cultivated 

 in our more curious collections, as may be feen in Aiton. 

 We fubjoin one fpecies to this fection, which Wilkler.ow hab 

 not admitted here. 



R. penlaphyllum. Five-leaved Morocco Sumach. Def- 

 font. Atlant. v. 1. 267. t. 77. (Rhamnus pentaphyllus ; 

 Jacq. Obf. fafc. 2. 17. Linn. Syft. Veg. ed. 14. 233. 

 R. ficulus; Syft. Nat. ed. 12. v. 3. 229. R. ficulus penta- 

 phyllos ; Bocc. Sic. 43. t. 2 1 . ) —Leaves ternate or quinate ; 

 leaflets linear-lanceolate, dilated upwards, obtufe, nearly 

 fmooth ; cut or undivided. Stem thorny. — Native of un- 

 cultivated hills in Morocco and Sicily. A thorny_/6/-«£, or 

 fmall tree, with numerous, round, fmooth, grey branches. 

 Leaves alternate, ftalked, digitate, of from three to five 

 narrow-wedge-fhaped, obtufe kajlets, above an inch long ; 

 fomewhat downy when v°ung ; either quite entire, or un- 

 equally toothed, fometimes pinnatitid. Flowers pale yellow, 

 in axillary compound cinders, dioecious. Berry red, re- 

 fembling hawthocn, but with three tubercles at the top ; its 

 flavour flightly acid, not unpleafant. The larh is ufed for 

 tanning, and For, dyeing red. B.sfont. 



Section 3. Leavesjflmple. Two fpecies. 



R. Cotinus. Venice Sumach, or Coccygria. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 383. Willd. n. 32. Ait. n. 21. Jacq. Auftr. t. 21c, 

 Coggygria Theophrafti, and Cotinus coriarius Plinii ; 

 Ger. Em. 1476. Cotinus; Duham. Arb. v. 1. t. 78.) — 

 Leaves fimple, obovate, or orbicular. — Native of Audria, 

 Switzerland, Italy, and Greece, in hilly (ituations. Com- 

 mon with us in plantations, for the fake of the very lingular 

 and ornamental appearance of its elongated feathery fruit- 

 dalks. Thejlem is bufhy, the height of a man. Leaves 

 fmooth, orbicular, entire. Flowers greenifh, fmall, in ter- 

 minal compound panicles. Fruit gibbous. The leaves and 

 /.'fills, when bruifed, have at: aromatic but pungent and 

 acid lcent. The whole plant is ufed for tanning in Italy, 

 and called Seotind ; fee Smith's Tour. The wood is much 

 ufed by the modern Athenians, according to Dr. Sibthorp, 

 for dyeing wool of a mod beautiful and rich yellow. 



R. atrum. Black Sumach. Ford. Prodr. 23. Willd. 

 n. 33. — " Leaves fimple, ovate-oblong. Fiov.ers poh 

 mous." — Found bv Forfter in New Caledonia. AJhrub or 

 tree. We know nothing more of this Ipecies, the only one, 

 except Cotinus, with fimple leaves. 



Rhus, in Gardening, contains plants of the tree and 

 fhrub kinds, fumach and toxicodendron ; of which the fpe- 

 cies cultivated are, the elm-leaved fumach (R. coriaria 1 . 

 tfee ftag's-horn Virginian fumach ( R. typhinum 1 ; the fcarlet 

 fumach (R. glabrum) ; the Carolina fumach (R. elegans) ; 

 the lentilcus-leaved fumach (R. copallinum) ; the Venice 

 fumach (R. cotinus) ; the trailing poifon-oak, or fumach 

 (R. toxicodendron) ; the varnifh iumach (R. yernix) ; the 

 rooting poifon-oak, or fumach ( R. radicans) ; the wooilv- 

 leaved fumach (R. tomentofum) ; the narrow-leaved fumach 

 ( R. anguftiiolium) ; and the fliining-leaved fumach (R. lu- 

 cidum). 



The branches in the firft fort are ufed inftead of oak bark 

 for tanning leather, and it is faid that Turkey leather is all 

 tanned with this fhrub. 



In the third fort there are feveral varieties ; as the New 

 England fumach, in which the item is ftronger, and rifes 

 higher than that of the fecond fort ; the branches fpread 

 more horizontally, they are not quite fo downy, and the 



down 



