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Rhus aromatica

SKUNK BUSH


Higher Taxonomy
Family: AnacardiaceaeView DescriptionDichotomous Key
Common Name: SUMAC or CASHEW FAMILY
Habit: Shrub, tree; generally dioecious or flowers bisexual and unisexual; resin clear, often weathering black, generally aromatic, latex milky or 0. Leaf: simple to ternate- or odd-pinnate-compound, alternate, deciduous or evergreen; stipules 0. Inflorescence: raceme or panicle; flowers generally many. Flower: generally unisexual, radial; sepals generally 5, base generally +- fused; petals 5, generally > sepals, free; (perianth parts 1--7 in Pistacia); stamens 4--7 or 10, vestigial in pistillate flowers; ovary superior, vestigial or 0 in staminate flowers, subtended by +- lobed, disk-like nectary, chamber generally 1, ovule generally 1, styles 1--3. Fruit: drupe, generally +- flat, sticky or not, hairs short or 0; pulp +- resinous, aromatic or not.
Genera In Family: 70+ genera, +- 850 species: tropics, warm temperate; some ornamental (Rhus, Schinus), cultivated for fruit (Anacardium, cashew; Mangifera, mango; Pistacia, pistachio). Toxicity: TOXIC: many genera produce contact dermatitis.
eFlora Treatment Author: John M. Miller & Dieter H. Wilken, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Bruce G. Baldwin, Thomas J. Rosatti.
Genus: RhusView DescriptionDichotomous Key


Habit: Shrub, tree; dioecious or flowers bisexual and pistillate. Leaf: simple or compound, deciduous or evergreen, entire, toothed, or lobed. Inflorescence: panicle, terminal on short twigs, open to dense; flowers +- sessile. Flower: stamens 5; styles 3, free or +- fused. Fruit: spheric or +- flat, glabrous or glandular-hairy, generally +- red; pulp thin or thick, +- resinous.
Etymology: (Greek: ancient name for sumac)
Unabridged Note: 2 species with pinnately compound leaves native to eastern North America, Utah, cultivated in California: Rhus glabra L., smooth sumac (petioles, young stems glabrous), Rhus typhina L., staghorn sumac (petioles, young stems densely hairy).
Reference: Yi et al. 2004 Molec Phylogen Evol 33:861--879
Unabridged Reference: Burke & Hamrick 2002 J Heredity 93:37--41; Miller et al. 2001 Int J Pl Sci 162:1401--1407; Li et al. 1999 J Torrey Bot Soc 126:279--288; Cronquist 1997 In: Intermountain Flora 3A: 313--315; Wannan & Quinn 1991 Bot J Linn Soc 107:349--385; Wannan & Quinn 1990 Bot J Linn Soc 103:225--252; Brizicky 1963 J Arnold Arbor 44:60--80; Barkley 1937 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 24:265--498
Rhus aromatica Aiton
NATIVE
Habit: Plant 0.5--2.5 m. Leaf: deciduous, thin, flat; petiole 5--15 mm; lobes or leaflets generally 3, crenate to +- lobed, abaxially tomentose to +- glabrous; terminal lobe or leaflet 10--35 mm, +- diamond-shaped, lateral 5--18 mm, generally ovate. Inflorescence: appearing before leaves; branches short, stiff. Flower: sepals yellow-green to +- red; petals generally yellow. Fruit: 5--8 mm diam, sparsely hairy, sticky, generally bright red-orange.
Ecology: Slopes, washes, scrub; Elevation: < 2200 m. Bioregional Distribution: CA-FP, DMoj (exc c), n DSon; Distribution Outside California: to southern Canada, central United States, northern Mexico. Flowering Time: Mar--May
Synonyms: Rhus aromatica Aiton var. simplicifolia (Greene) Cronquist Listed in CNPS Inventory; Rhus aromatica var. trilobata (Nutt.) A. Gray ex S. Watson; Rhus aromatica subsp. trilobata (Nutt.) W.A. Weber; Rhus trilobata Nutt.; Rhus trilobata var. anisophylla (Greene) Jeps.; Rhus trilobata var. malacophylla (Greene) Munz; Rhus trilobata var. quinata Jeps.; Rhus trilobata var. simplicifolia (Greene) F.A. Barkley; Rhus trilobata var. trilobata; Schmaltzia trilobata (Nutt.) Small; Toxicodendron trilobatum (Nutt.) Kuntze; Toxicodendron triphyllum var. trilobatum (Nutt.) Kuntze, nom. inval.
Jepson eFlora Author: John M. Miller & Dieter H. Wilken
Reference: Yi et al. 2004 Molec Phylogen Evol 33:861--879
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)

Previous taxon: Rhus
Next taxon: Rhus integrifolia

Botanical illustration including Rhus aromaticabotanical illustration including Rhus aromatica


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Citation for this treatment: John M. Miller & Dieter H. Wilken 2012, Rhus aromatica, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=41175, accessed on October 04, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on October 04, 2024.

Rhus aromatica
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©2012 Vernon Smith
Rhus aromatica
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©2016 Keir Morse
Rhus aromatica
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©2005 James M. Andre
Rhus aromatica
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©2011 Neal Kramer
Rhus aromatica  
var. simplicifolia
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©2013 Keir Morse

More photos of Rhus aromatica
in CalPhotos



Geographic subdivisions for Rhus aromatica:
CA-FP, DMoj (exc c), n DSon
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map of distribution 1

(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurrence).






 

Data provided by the participants of the  Consortium of California Herbaria.

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All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month Flowering-Fruiting Monthly Counts

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).