Rhus michauxii Sarg.

TSO logo

Sponsor this page

For information about how you could sponsor this page, see How You Can Help

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhus michauxii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhus/rhus-michauxii/). Accessed 2024-03-29.

Genus

Synonyms

  • R. pumilum Michx., not Meerburgh

Glossary

panicle
A much-branched inflorescence. paniculate Having the form of a panicle.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
imparipinnate
Odd-pinnate; (of a compound leaf) with a central rachis and an uneven number of leaflets due to the presence of a terminal leaflet. (Cf. paripinnate.)

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhus michauxii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhus/rhus-michauxii/). Accessed 2024-03-29.

A low, diciduous shrub up to 312 ft high, spreading by means of underground suckers; stems erect and rather stout, covered with short hairs. Leaves pinnate, 8 to 12 in. long, dull green; leaflets usually nine to fifteen, ovate or oblong, 112 to 3 in. long, rounded and slightly oblique at the base, the terminal one the largest, with a winged stalk, the upper surface hairy, the lower one covered with a dense, yellowish down, the margins coarsely toothed. Panicle erect, terminal, hairy, 6 to 8 in. high, half as much wide; flowers 18 in. wide, densely arranged, petals greenish yellow; calyx covered with grey down. Fruits nearly round, 18 in. in diameter, scarlet, very downy.

Native of the S.E. United States; first discovered by Michaux towards the end of the 18th century. For about one hundred years it was lost sight of, but was again discovered and reintroduced to cultivation. It was sent to Kew in 1901 from the Biltmore Arboretum, USA, and flowered the same year. According to some authorities it is very poisonous, perhaps the most poisonous of American sumachs, but I have spoken with Americans who regard it as harmless.