Al'IAC ARD IAC EAE 



In many places the Indians gather the fruits which they use in 

 various ways. The berries are added to water to make a sour drink, 

 used fresh for seasoning or as an appetizer, or dried and ground to 

 a meal which is used in various ways. It is quite easy to handle 

 in the nursery. The seed, however, are often blank and germination 

 for that reason low. The best method is to immerse the seeds in 

 water and float off the poor ones before planting. This will not 

 grow from cuttings. 



We have at least eight other species of Rhus in our region. 

 The single-leaf squaw bush (Rhus u tahensis ) , resembles R. tr ilobata . 

 It grows in the extreme desert sites of northern Arizona and southern 

 Utah. While it is more drought resistant than any of the others, the 

 difficulty in obtaining seed has thus far prevented the nurseries 

 from growing it. 



Rhus virons, Evergreen Sumac, is confined to the mountains of 

 southern Arizona, within our range but is common in Texas and Mexico.. 

 It has possibilities as an ornamental evergreen tree but is hardly 

 suitable for erosion control work. 



Rhus ovata. is a smal] handsome round-topped evergreen tree 

 with large ovate leaves, found in central and southern Arizona. It 

 is even less hardy than R^ vi rons and suitable for ornamental work. 



Rhus inte grif olia got lost from its headquarters along the 

 coast about San Diego and established itself in the Tinajas Altas 

 Mountains of Arizona. It is an evergreen suitable only to frostless 

 regions. Unlike most Rhuses, it layers quite readily but it refuses 

 to grow from cuttings. 



Rhus chori ophylla is confined to the mountains of southeastern 

 New Mexico and western Texas. It is a handsome evergreen sumac 

 probably suited only to ornamental work • It closely resembles R. 

 virens . 



Rhus lanceolate, associated with R. choriophylla, is a small 

 tree resembling a common sumac but with very hard. wood. This is 

 suitable for ornamental work and may prove to be worthwhile for 

 erosion control. 



Rhus glabra forms thickets in the mountain valleys of the 

 Huachuca Mountains of Arizona and doubtless is to be found elsewhere 

 in the southwest. It has a wide distribution in the west. This 

 species is probably the most promising of our sumacs for soil erosion 

 control work and its other uses are important. The bark end leaves 

 are used for tannin, the roots yield a yellow dye, the fruits are 

 edible and have medicinal value. Incidentally, the shrub is a 



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