A CHEMICAL STUDY OF RHUS GLABRA. 
BY A. W. MARTIN. 
The Anacardiacae, or Sumach family, numbers about 
four hundred species. 
Most of these, however, are tropical; only a few grow in 
the northern states. Rhus glabra, the one under investi- 
gation, is abundant and is one of the hardy species. It 
grows from two to twenty feet high. The flowers are 
small and of a greenish-red color. They grow in clusters 
from three to eight inches long. The fruit consists of red 
berries subglobular in shape and about 3 m.m. in diameter. 
They consist of the seed proper within a coating of felt-like 
husk which contains all of the coloring matter and nearly 
all of the acid present in the seed. 
A water extract of the seed and of the leaves is used for 
dyeing. The leaves and bark have been used for tanning 
purposes on account of the large amount of tannic acid 
present. In a few cases, decoction of the seed has been 
used medicinally although its real value is questionable. 
The seed used in the following experiments was gathered 
the latter part of September after the full growth had been 
reached and the seed partly matured. The first work done 
was on a mixture of two different species, Rhus glabra 
and Rhus hirta. An examination showed the two species 
were different and hence the work proper was done on the 
Rhus glabra. 
In beginning the general analysis, the whole seed was 
used while later it was found advisable to separate the 
seed from the husk before making the examination. 
(171) 
