Rhus trilobata

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Skunkbush" redirects here. The term may also refer to Navarretia squarrosa.

Rhus trilobata
Green berries

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Rhus
Species:
R. trilobata
Binomial name
Rhus trilobata

Rhus trilobata is a shrub in the

Rhus) with the common names skunkbush sumac,[1] sourberry, skunkbush, [2] and three-leaf sumac. It is native to the western half of Canada and the Western United States, from the Great Plains to California and south through Arizona extending into northern Mexico
. It can be found from deserts to mountain peaks up to about 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in elevation.

Distribution

Rhus trilobata grows in many types of plant communities, such as the grasslands east of the Rocky Mountains, mountainous shrubland, pine, juniper, and fir forests, wetlands, oak woodlands, and chaparral. The plant is destroyed above ground but rarely killed by wildfire, and will readily sprout back up in burned areas.

Description

This Rhus species closely resembles other members of the genus that have leaves with three "leaflets" ("trifoliate" leaves). These include

Quercus
).

The Rhus trilobata leaves have a very strong scent when crushed. The aroma is medicinal or bitter, disagreeable enough to some to have gained the plant the name skunkbush. The leaves are green when new and turn orange and brown in the fall. The twigs are fuzzy when new, and turn sleek with age. The flowers, borne on small catkins ("short shoots"), are white or light yellow. Edible fruit, the plant yields hairy and slightly sticky red berries which have an aroma similar to limes and a very sour taste. The acidity comes from tannic and gallic acids. The flowers are animal-pollinated and the seeds are dispersed by animals that eat the berries. The shrub also reproduces vegetatively, sending up sprouts several meters away and forming thickets.

Uses

The berries are an important food source in winter for many birds and some small mammals.[2]

The skunkbush sumac has historically been used for medicinal and other purposes. The bark has been chewed or brewed into a drink for cold symptoms, the berries eaten for gastrointestinal complaints and toothache, and the leaves and roots boiled and eaten for many complaints. The leaves have also been smoked. The flexible branches were useful and sought after for twisting into

federally recognized tribe from Tollhouse, California), the fruit will last all year long if you have flats full and dry them out. He goes on to say, once you're ready to eat them, just add a little moisture.[citation needed
]

It is sometimes planted for erosion control and landscaping, and is a plant used for reclaiming barren land stripped by mining.

The Zuni people, Navajo, Mono tribe of California and tribes in the area use the stems with the bark removed to make baskets.[4]

The Uncompahgre Ute name for the berries is mah wup, and the bush is called ece.[5]

References

  1. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Rhus trilobata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-394-73127-1
    .
  3. ^ Laferrière, Joseph E., Charles W. Weber and Edwin A. Kohlhepp. 1991a. Use and nutritional composition of some traditional Mountain Pima plant foods. Journal of Ethnobiology 11(1):93-114.
  4. ^ Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p. 81)
  5. OCLC 654484917 https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6xd3x5k

Casebeer, M. (2004). Discover California Shrubs. Sonora, California: Hooker Press.

ISBN 0-9665463-1-8

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhus trilobata.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhus_trilobata&oldid=1165865260"