From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rhus is a genus of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae. They are commonly called sumac or sumach. Some species (including Poison ivy, poison-oak, and poison sumac), often placed in this genus, are here treated in the genus Toxicodendron, which differs in highly allergenic foliage and grayish-white fruit but is not genetically distinct. The name derives from the Greek name for sumac, rhous.
A young branch of Staghorn Sumac.
The genus is found in subtropical and warm temperate regions throughout the world, with the highest diversity in southern Africa.
They are shrubs and small trees growing to 1-10 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged; they are usually pinnately compound, though some species have trifoliate or simple leaves. The flowers are in dense panicles or spikes 5-30 cm long, each flower very small, creamy white, greenish or red, with five petals. The fruit form dense clusters of reddish drupes called sumac bobs.
Sumac propagates both by seeds, which are spread by birds and other animals through their droppings, and by new sprouts from rhizomes, forming large clonal colonies.
[edit] Species
- Africa
- Rhus acocksii Moffett
- Rhus albomarginata Sond.
- Rhus angustifolia L.
- Rhus batophylla Codd
- Rhus baurii Schonl.
- Rhus bolusii Sond. ex Engl.
- Rhus burchellii Sond. ex Engl.
- Rhus carnosula Schonl
- Rhus chirindensis Bak.f.
- Rhus ciliata Licht. ex Schult.
- Rhus crenata Thunb.
- Rhus cuneifolia L.
- Rhus dentata Thunb.
- Rhus discolorE.Mey. ex Sond.
- Rhus dissecta Thunb.
- Rhus divaricata Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus dracomontana Moffett
- Rhus dregeana Sond.
- Rhus dura Schonl.
- Rhus engleri Britt.
- Rhus erosa Thunb.
- Rhus fastigiata Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus gerrardii (Harv. ex Engl.) Diels.
- Rhus glauca Thunb.
- Rhus gracillima Engl.
- Rhus grandidens Harv. ex Engl.
- Rhus gueinzii Sond.
- Rhus harveyi Moffett
- Rhus horrida Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus incisa L.f.
- Rhus kirkii Oliv.
- Rhus keetii Schönl.
- Rhus krebsiana Presl ex Engl.
- Rhus laevigata L.
- Rhus lancea L.f.
- Rhus leptodictya Diels.
- Rhus longispina Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus lucens Hutch.
- Rhus lucida L.
- Rhus macowanii Schönl.
- Rhus magalismontana Sond.
- Rhus maricoana Moffett
- Rhus marlothii Engl.
- Rhus microcarpa Schonl.
- Rhus montana Diels
- Rhus natalensis Bernh. ex Krauss
- Rhus nebulosa Schonl.
- Rhus pallens Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus pendulina Jacq.
- Rhus pentheri Zahlbr.
- Rhus pondoensis Schönl.
- Rhus populifolia E.Mey. ex Sond.
- Rhus problematodes Merxm. & Roessl.
- Rhus pterota Presl
- Rhus pygmaea Moffett
- Rhus pyroides Burch.
- Rhus quartiniana A. Rich.
- Rhus refracta Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus rehmanniana Engl.
- Rhus rigida Mill.
- Rhus rimosa Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus rogersii Schonl.
- Rhus rosmarinifolia Vahl
- Rhus rudatisii Engl.
- Rhus scytophylla Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus sekhukhuniensis Moffett
- Rhus stenophylla Eckl. & Zeyh.
- Rhus tenuinervis Engl.
- Rhus tomentosa L.
- Rhus transvaalensis Engl.
- Rhus tridactyla Burch.
- Rhus tumulicola S.Moore
- Rhus undulata Jacq.
- Rhus volkii Suesseng.
- Rhus wilmsii Diels.
- Rhus zeyheri Sond.
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- Asia
- Rhus chinensis (Chinese Sumac)
- Rhus hypoleuca
- Rhus javanica
- Rhus punjabensis (Punjab Sumac)
- Rhus verniciflua: see Toxicodendron vernicifluum
- Australia
- Mediterranean region
- Rhus coriaria (Tanner's Sumac)
- Rhus pentaphylla
- Rhus tripartita
- Eastern North America
- Western North America
- Rhus choriophylla (Mearns Sumac), Arizona, New Mexico
- Rhus laurina (Laurel Sumac)
- Rhus integrifolia (Lemonade Sumac)
- Rhus microphylla (Desert Sumac, Littleleaf sumac)
- Rhus ovata (Sugar Sumac)
- Rhus trilobata (Skunkbush Sumac)
- Rhus virens (Evergreen Sumac)
- Mexico and Central America
- Rhus muelleri (Müller's Sumac; northeast Mexico)
- Pacific Ocean
- Rhus sandwicensis A. Gray (Neleau; Hawaii, endemic).
Staghorn sumac bob, Hamilton, Ontario
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[edit] Cultivation and uses
The hairy covering of the drupes is harvested and used as a spice (a deep red powder with a sour taste) in some Middle Eastern countries, particularly with salads. In North America, the smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, and the staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, are sometimes used to make a beverage, termed "sumac-ade" or "Indian lemonade" or "rhus juice". This drink is made by soaking the drupes in cool water, rubbing the active principle off the drupes, then straining the liquid through a cotton cloth and sweetening it. Native Americans also used the leaves and berries of the smooth and staghorn sumacs combined with tobacco in traditional smoking mixtures.
Species including the fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica, the littleleaf sumac, R. microphylla, the skunkbush sumac, R. trilobata, the smooth sumac, and the staghorn sumac are grown for ornament, either as the wild type or as cultivars.
The leaves of certain sumacs yield tannin (mostly pyrogallol), a substance used in vegetable tanning. Leather tanned with sumac is flexible, light in weight, and light in color, even bordering on being white.
Dried sumac wood glows under UV lighting (blacklight)[citation needed].
Mowing of sumac is not a good control measure as the wood is springy resulting in jagged, sharp pointed stumps when mowed. The plant will quickly recover with new growth after mowing. See Nebraska Extension Service publication G97-1319 for suggestions as to control.
[edit] References and external links
- Southern African species
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Herbs and spices |
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Basil · Bay leaf · Boldo · Borage · Cannabis · Chervil · Chives · Coriander leaf (cilantro) · Curry leaf · Dill · Epazote · Eryngium foetidum (long coriander) · Hoja santa · Holy basil · Houttuynia cordata (giấp cá) · Hyssop · Lavender · Lemon grass · Limnophila aromatica (rice paddy herb) · Lovage · Marjoram · Mint · Oregano · Parsley · Perilla · Rosemary · Rue · Sage · Savory · Sorrel · Stevia · Tarragon · Thai basil · Thyme · Vietnamese coriander (rau răm)
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| Spices |
African pepper · Ajwain (bishop's weed) · Allspice · Amchur (mango powder) · Anise · Aromatic ginger · Asafoetida · Camphor · Caraway · Cardamom · Cardamom, black · Cassia · Cayenne pepper · Celery seed · Chili · Cinnamon · Clove · Coriander seed · Cubeb · Cumin · Cumin, black · Dill seed · Fennel · Fenugreek · Fingerroot (krachai) · Galangal, greater · Galangal, lesser · Garlic · Ginger · Grains of paradise · Horseradish · Juniper berry · Liquorice · Mace · Mahlab · Malabathrum (tejpat) · Mustard, black · Mustard, white · Nigella (kalonji) · Nutmeg · Paprika · Pepper, black · Pepper, green · Pepper, long · Pepper, pink, Brazilian · Pepper, pink, Peruvian · Pepper, white · Pomegranate seed (anardana) · Poppy seed · Saffron · Sarsaparilla · Sassafras · Sesame · Sichuan Pepper · Star anise · Sumac · Tasmanian pepper · Tamarind · Turmeric · Wasabi · Zedoary
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