AMERICAN SUMAC. 3 
Table 2. — Importation of sumac into the United States. 
Year. 
Sumac extract (im- 
ported for consump- 
tion). 
Ground sumac (gen- 
eral importation). 
Quantity. 
Value. 
Quantity. 
Value. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
1894 
1,277,609 
S54, 535 
8, 383, 570 
$192, 647 
1,266,542 
48,399 
12,975,970 
183,136 
1904 
1,356,020 
50, 681 
IS, 604, 6: 4 
276, 891 
1909 
1,232,830 
54, 171 
10,974,613 
293, 2 '9 
1910 
1,461,373 
54, 899 
13,632,861 
239, 170 
1911 
987, 3-18 
36,025 
1912 
1,389,733 
46,551 
12,498,376 
235, 154 
1913 
1,270,825 
44, 568 
14,489,776 
297, 506 
1914 
1,029,792 
42,973 
10,770,4C0 
258,738 
1915 
727,4:9 
35,066 
13, 165, 182 
323, 4-! 8 
1916 
36,003 
4,108 
21,54<\3C0 
555, 276 
1917 
11,637,023 
365, 173 
Information in the possession of the Bureau of Chemistry shows 
clearly that the consumption of domestic sumac during the two or 
three years prior to 1917 has been more than 10,000,000 pounds 
annually. Early in 1910 domestic sumac was quoted at $55 per 
ton. Sicilian sumac is now (May, 1918) worth from $102 to $105 per 
ton at the chief Atlantic ports. Domestic sumac recently (May, 1918) 
was quoted at $60 per ton. 
SPECIES OF AMERICAN SUMAC. 
Important species of sumac growing in North America are : Dwarf 
sumac (Rhus copallina L.), white sumac (Rhus glabra L.), staghorn 
sumac (Rhus hirta (L.) Sudw.). Other species .which contain tannin 
are: Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica Ait.), American smoke tree 
(Rhus cotinoides Nutt.), coral or Jamaica sumac (Rhus metopium L.). 
Two species of sumac are poisonous, namely: Poison sumac, or 
poison elder (Rhus vernix L.), and poison or three-leaf ivy (Rhus 
radicans L.). 
Descriptions of the characteristic's, together with the geographic 
distribution, of the more important species follow. 
Dwarf sumac, sometimes called Black or Mountain sumac (Rhus 
copallina). — A shrub or sometimes a small tree with maximum height 
of 30 feet and trunk diameter of 10 inches. The leaflets are dark 
green, smooth on top, paler and often hairy underneath, with edges 
smooth or few-toothed toward the apex. The fruit grows in dense 
terminal clusters, is crimson in color, and is covered with fine hairs. 
The unmistakable characteristic of this species is the peculiar winged 
growth along the leaf stem between the leaflets (PI. II, A). Dwarf 
sumac grows in dry soil, and may be found from Maine and southern 
Ontario to Florida and Texas, and west to Minnesota and Nebraska. 
White sumac, sometimes called Smooth, Upland, or Scarlet 
sumac (Rhus glabra). — A shrub, or rarely a small tree, 2 to 20 feet 
high. The leaflets are dark green on top and whitish underneath, with 
edges sharply saw-toothed. The fruit grows in dense terminal 
