notes on this plant; and have drawn up the preceding description from incomplete
specimens. It will be seen that the plant differs considerably from
the genus Pitavia (or Galvezia) as defined by Ad. Jussieu, in his Mém. sur
des Rutacées, from which the generic character given above has been extracted
; and it is very probably not a congener of Galvezia punctata, R u iz
Pav. The sterile flowers, if they exist, we have not seen; those in our
specimen being apparently perfect.
Or d e r XXXIV. ANACARDIACEiE. R. Br.
Flowers perfect, or frequently diclinous, regular. Sepals 5, or rarely
3 -4 -7 , distinct or more or less combined, usually persistent. Petals
o f the same number as the sepals (or sometimes none), inserted into
the disk which lines the bottom of the calyx : aestivation imbricated
or rarely valvate. Stamens as many as the petals and alternate with
them, or twice as many or more, a portion sometimes sterile : fila-
ments distinct, sometimes alternately shorter, inserted with the petals :
anthers introrse. Ovary solitary (o f 1 -5 carpels, distinct or united,
but all abortive except one), free, or rarely adhering to the calyx,
1-celled, or with one or two abortive cells o f the suppressed carpels :
ovule solitary, on a funiculus which rises from the base o f the cell
but is sometimes adnate to one o f its sides : styles 3 or rarely 4 -5 ,
distinct or combined : stigmas as many. Fruit indehiscent, usually
drupaceous, 1-seeded. Seed erect or suspended, anatropous, without
albumen. Embryo more or less curved: cotyledons very thick and
fleshy, sometimes foliaceous, often bent upon the radicle.—Trees or
shrubs, with a resinous, gummy, caustic or milky juice., Leaves simple
or compound, alternate, exstipulate, not dotted. Flowers axillary
or terminal, mostly panicled.
1. RHUS. L in n .; Lam. ill. t. 207.
Sepals 5, united at the base, small, persistent. Petals 5, ovate, spreading,
inserted under the margin of the orbicular disk. Stamens 5 (rarely 10),
equal, inserted into the disk. Styles 3, distinct or united : stigmas 3, sub-
capitate. Fruit almost a dry drupe ; nut bony, 1-celled. Seed solitary, suspended
on a funiculus that rises from the base to the apex of the cell. Cotyledons
foliaceous, incumbent upon the radicle.— Shrubs or small trees.
Leaves simple, or unequally pinnate. Flowers often by abortion polygamous
or dioecious.
§ 1. Flowers perfect: drupe semi-obcordate, reticulately veined ; nut triangular:
leaves simple: flowers in loose panicles.—C otinus, Tourn.
1. R.Cotinus'l (Linn.): leaves obovate, entire; a great part of the flowers
abortive, the pedicels at length elongated and clothed with large shaggy
R hus. ANACARDIACEIE. 217
hairs.— Willd. sp. 1.p. 1484; DC. prodr. 2. p. 67. R. cotinoides, Nutt.!
in herb. acad. Philad.
On the high rocky banks of Grand River, Arkansas, Nuttall! certainly
indigenous.—Mr. Nuttall’s specimens are in fruit only: an examination of
the flowers will probably prove it to be distinct from R. Cotinus, a native of
the South of Europe and Middle Asia, but not unfrequently cultivated in
gardens.
§ 2. Flowers perfect, polygamous or dioecious: dish entire or lobed: drupe
roundish, sometimes hairy : rmt smooth or sulcate. Leaves unequally
pinnate or 3-foliolate ; the petiole often winged : flowers panicled.—
S umac, DC.
1. R. typhina (Linn.): branches and petioles densely villous; leaflets
11-31, whitish and more or less pubescent beneath, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate,
acutely serrate; panicles terminal, thyrsoid; drupes densely clothed
with crimson hairs.--— Duham. arb.2. t. 47 ; Michx. ! ft. 1. p. 182; Ell. sk.
1- p. 360; DC. prodr. 2. p. 67. R. Canadense, Mill. diet. R. viridiflora,
Poir. dict. 7. p. 504 ; DC. 1. c.
Canada 1 to S. Carolina & Louisiana! June.—A shrub, or small tree (20 feet
high) with spreading branches- Petioles at length 2 -3 feet long. FJowers greenish
yellow, often polygamous or dioecious by abortion. Drupe compressed ;
the hairs very acid. Cellular tissue of the wood orange-color, with a
strong aromatic odor: juice resinous, copious.—Stag-horn Sumach.
2. R. glabra (Linn.): leaves and branches glabrous ; leaflets 13-31, lanceolate
oblong, acuminate; acutely serrate, glaucous beneath; panicles terminal,
thyrsoid; drupes red, clothed with crimson hairs.— Michx.! fl. 1. p.
182; Ell. sk. 1. p. 361; Bigel. fl. Bost. ed. 2. p. 118; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 1.
p. 126. R. Carolinianum, Mill. diet. R. elegans, Ait. Kew. {ed. 1.) p. 162.
R. Virginicum etc., Catesb. Car. app. t. 4.
In rocky orbarren places, Canada 1 (on the Saskatchawan, Hooker) to Georgia
& Louisiana! July-Aug.—A stout shrub, 5-18 feet high, with a resinous milky
juice. Leaves usually smaller than in R. typhina. Flowers often dioecious.
Down of the drupes very acid (the malic, according to Cozzens, in ann. lyc.
New- York 1. p. 42 ; bimalate of lime,) Prof. W. B. Rogers in Amer.journ.
pharm. (n. ser.) 1. p. 56. The leaves and branches of this and the preceding
species are astringent and sometimes used in tanning.—Smooth Sumach.
3. R. pum.ila (Michx.): procumbent, villous-pubescent; leaflets about 11,
oval or oblong, slightly acuminate, coarsely toothed, with a velvety pubescence;
panicles terminal, thyrsoid, nearly sessile; drupes clothed with a
red silky pubescence.—Michx.! fl. 1. p. 182 ; Pursh,fl. 1. p. 204 ; DC .l.c .
In grassy pine barrens, Mecklenberg County, N. Carolina, Michaux, Nuttall
! also on the Neuse River, Schweinitz !—An extensively procumbent
shrub; the branches about a foot high. The 3 upper leaflets often confluent;
the terminal one when distinct attenuate at the base.—A very poisonous
species.
4. R . Copallina (Linn.): branches and petioles pubescent; leaflets 9-21,
oval-lanceolate or oblong, mostly acute or acuminate, shining above, pubescent
beneath, unequal at the base; petiole winged; panicles terminal, thyrsoid,
sessile, sometimes leafy; drupes red, hairy.
a. leaflets entire, usually acuminate.—R. Copallina, L in n .; Walt. Car. p.
225; Michx. ! fl. 1. p. 182 ; Jacq. hort. Schoenb. 3. p. 50. t.. 341: Ell. sk I
p. 362.
fl. leaflets coarsely and unequally serrate.
y. leaflets (about 21) small, oblong, acute at the base; obtuse and slightly
mucronate at the apex; petiole narrowly winged.
28