Part 9

CASHEW FAMILY

249. SMOOTH SUMAC (Rhus glabra L.) abundant tall shrub, in woods or fields, prefers lowlands but also common in shallow depressions of uplands. Leaves: pinnately compound, 6 to 12 inches long, leaflets toothed, dark and smooth above; turning bright scarlet in early autumn. Twigs: smooth, reddish brown or with a whitish bloom; stout; buds entirely encircled by leaf stem or scar, juice milky. Flowers: dioecious, staminate in large, loose clusters of small, creamy flowers; pistillate clusters more compact and soon showing tinge of red. Fruit: dark red, fuzzy, acid skins cover each dry seed, retain color nearly all winter; may be used to make a substitute for lemonade. Wood: too scanty to be of value, center pithy.

250. WINGED OR DWARF SUMAC (Rhus copallina L.) a tall shrub or rarely a small tree, abundant on limestone hills and bluffs. Leaves: pinnately compound, 6 to 8 inches long, leaflets not or remotely serrate on margins, leafy wings along stem between leaflets. Twigs: slightly pubescent (fuzzy), buds not entirely encircled by leaf scar, juice watery. Flowers: similar to R. glabra but later, in August. Fruit: clusters do not retain their bright color as late. Wood: light and soft, greenish brown.

251. POISON IVY, POISON OAK (Rhus toxicodendron L.) an abundant, woody, high-climbing vine, often appearing shrubby when young, or in the absence of a support; preferring woodlands, but also in open places. Leaves: compound, of three leaflets 2 to 5 inches long, coarsely toothed or lobed or more rarely entire. Bark: noticeable for numerous aerial rootlets on large specimens. Branches: extending at right angles from main stem. Flowers: inconspicuous, whitish. Fruit: white, in small, loose clusters. All parts of the plant very poisonous to the touch: the apparent immunity of some persons may be lost at any time and those who have suffered previous attacks seem more subject to the poison thereafter.

252. AROMATIC OR ILL-SCENTED SUMAC (Rhus trilobata and var. aromatica) or skunk bush: a spreading, low to medium shrub common in dry upland woods. Leaves: compound, of three leaflets, teeth or lobes usually rounded, ½ to 1½ inches long; both plants and opinions vary as to whether leaves are aromatic or ill-scented when crushed. Twigs: are noticeable in winter for their cone-shaped buds. Flowers: in March, small, yellow. Fruit: small clusters of red stone fruits covered with white hairs, ripe in midsummer, decorative. K (p. 204-5.)

HOLLY FAMILY

253. SWAMP HOLLY (Ilex decidua Walt.) or possum haw, a common small tree or shrub thriving best in lowlands, but also grows on dry limestone bluffs. Leaves: 1 to 2 inches long, usually blunt at the tip, margins with small, rounded teeth. Twigs: light gray, the short stems often densely covered with fruit scars, resembling tiny cones; alternate on the branches. Bark: pale gray often mottled, smooth. Flowers: dioecious, white, very inconspicuous. Fruit: round, scarlet or orange, close to the branches, singly or few together, on wood of the previous year, often remain through winter. Wood: heavy, close-grained, creamy-white. This tree suffers from vandals, especially near Christmas, although not evergreen like its spiny-leaved relative, Ilex opaca which is grown commercially and is also a native of East Texas. Youpon (Ilex vomitoria) is another native of East Texas which resembles our swamp holly even more closely except that its leaves are evergreen, and its fruit more pulpy.

STAFF-TREE FAMILY

254. WAAHOO or burning bush (Evonymus atropurpureus Jacq.) a medium to tall shrub or small tree of low woodlands, not very common. Leaves: opposite, simple, 2 to 5 inches long, tapering at both ends, finely serrate, light green and often turning pinkish in autumn. Twigs: green with gray stripes, often more or less 4-angled. Bark: smoothish, mottled gray. Flowers: small, very dark red, 4-lobed, in May. Fruit: crimson, not more than one in each lobe of 4-lobed rosy pod hanging from red, threadlike stem, in winter. Wood: heavy, hard and close-grained. The climbing bittersweet, native of Oklahoma and East Texas, is a member of this family.

MAPLE FAMILY

255. BOX ELDER (Acer negundo L.) a medium-sized tree fairly common in low woods and along stream banks. This is the only member of the family native to Dallas County. Leaves: pinnately compound, opposite, usually 5 leaflets, sometimes 3 or 7, 2½ to 5 in. long, light green, coarsely toothed. Twigs: usually green, smooth. Bark: gray, with regular, shallow furrows. Flowers: dioecious, very small, staminate forming green, silky tassels. Fruit: seeds with elongated wings, in pairs forming v’s, ripen and fall in autumn although their stems cling until spring. Wood: light, soft, close-grained; used for woodenware, interior finish and paper pulp. Sugar can be made from the sap. This tree grows rapidly in a moist situation but is short-lived.

SOAPBERRY FAMILY

256. SPANISH or TEXAS BUCKEYE (Ungnadia speciosa Endl.) a tall shrub or small tree, not very common, in upland woods; native only to Texas, New Mexico and northern Mexico; Dallas County about its northeastern limit. Leaves: pinnately compound, ash-like but alternate, leaflets 1 to 3 inches long, wrinkled undersurface. Twigs: light brown. Bark: light gray, thin, with numerous shallow fissures. Flowers: color of redbud, slightly larger and averaging two weeks later, 4 or 5 slender petals and red stamens often curving in opposite directions. Fruit: 3 or rarely 4 round, black, shiny seeds, smaller than true buckeyes but having the pale “eye-spot”; leathery brown pods usually crack open and drop the seeds in October or November, themselves remaining through the winter. The seeds are powerful emetics and reputed to be poisonous. Wood: heavy, close-grained, soft but brittle, reddish brown. K (p. 215.)

257. SOAPBERRY or wild chinaberry (Sapindus drummondii H. & A.) a medium-sized tree, fairly common in lowlands, a tree of the southwest-central states. Leaves: pinnately compound of 4 to 9 pairs of sickle-shaped leaflets about 2½ inches long with entire margins; lack the odd terminal leaflet of walnuts and pecans. Twigs: slender, the outer branches often drooping. Bark: light gray, rough and loosely scaly. Flowers: small, creamy white, showy because of large size of the terminal clusters, in May or June. Fruit: golden, or amber, translucent, size of marbles, drooping from tips of branches, remain until spring when they sometimes turn black. Wood: heavy, strong and splits easily between annual rings, hence used for basket splints.

258. FETID or OHIO BUCKEYE (Aesculus glabra Willd.) medium shrub or rarely small tree in this region, low or upland woods but nowhere common. Leaves: opposite, palmately compound, of 7 to 9 slender, toothed leaflets, 2½ to 4½ inches long, 1 to 2 wide, conspicuous in early spring as they are among the first to open. Twigs: stout, with large opposite buds, the terminal one containing leaves as well as flower clusters; branches usually divide into twos. Flowers: in April, pale yellow clusters, stamens slightly longer than the petals. Fruit: brown, glossy seeds, flattened on one side, with a large, pale “eye-spot”; two or three in a leathery, rounded husk, 1 to 2 inches across, covered with short, scattered prickles. The seed was once believed to be a cure for rheumatism when carried in the pocket. Wood: light, close-grained, tough; used for artificial limbs, splints, woodenware and paper pulp; ill-scented.

BUCKTHORN FAMILY

259. INDIAN CHERRY (Rhamnus caroliniana Walt.) or yellow buckthorn, a shrub or small tree, fairly common in rich, low woods and limestone slopes. Leaves: glossy, dark green, 2 to 5 in. long and 1 to 2 in. wide, rounded at base and acute or acuminate at tip, margins obscurely serrate, veins yellow, evenly spaced and prominent on the under side; turning dark purple or yellow in autumn, tardily deciduous on young trees. Twigs: with naked winter buds small and pointed. Flowers: in May, inconspicuous, usually dioecious. Fruit: size of small peas, containing 2 to 4 seeds; scattered, on short stems; red in summer, turning black in autumn. Wood: hard, light brown, close-grained and brittle.

260. NEW JERSEY TEA (Ceanothus ovatus Desf.) or RED-ROOT; a shrub 1 to 3 feet high, common on dry uplands of woods, meadows and roadsides. Leaves: veins depressed above and prominent beneath as in the other two local members of this family, lowest pair longest, not dark and glossy above, 1 or 2 in. long, less than half as wide. Twigs: slender, retaining stems and whitish fruit “cups” in winter. Flowers: tiny, white, fragrant, in small, dense, rather cone-shaped clusters; the 5 petals and 5 sepals all white and incurved, petals forming a hood from which anthers project; in April. Fruit: small, three-lobed, white, ripening in summer. K (p. 216.)

261. RATTAN VINE or SUPPLE-JACK (Berchemia scandens Trel.) a fairly common, high-climbing, woody vine of low woods. Leaves: similar to Indian cherry except much smaller, 1 to 2 in. long. Stems: smooth, greenish, pliable, tough, very slender when young, becoming several inches thick in old age. Flowers: small, greenish-white, in small panicles. Fruit: oval, blackish, about ¼ in. long, containing one seed. B (Vol. II, p. 502).

VINE (GRAPE) FAMILY

262. VIRGINIA CREEPER (Psedera quinquefolia Greene) (Parthenocissus q. Planch.) or woodbine: common woodland vine preferring lowlands, climbing tall trees or covering stumps. Leaves: alternate, palmately compound, of 5 to 7 leaflets, irregularly toothed, tapering at each end, 2 to 4 in. long; turning bright scarlet in early fall. Flowers: clustered, inconspicuous. Fruit: bluish, round, like tiny grapes, popular with birds. More than one species but not readily distinguished. Some have adhesive disks at the tips of tendrils. Often but needlessly confused with poison ivy.

263. PEPPER VINE (Cissus arborea Des Moulins) a fairly common vine in river bottoms and low, sandy soils. Leaves: alternate, twice-pinnately compound, dark green, reddish when young and in autumn; resembling chinaberry; decorative. Stems: slender. Flowers: whitish, small. Fruit: like small grapes but glossy black, inedible, ripe in August. K (p. 223).

264. COW-ITCH VINE (Cissus incisa Des Moulins) a rather rare vine preferring open, sandy woods. Leaves: fleshy, sometimes palmately compound, or deeply 3-lobed or 3-parted. Stems: somewhat fleshy. Flowers: small, in compound umbels, usually 4 spreading petals. Fruit: small, grape-like, blackish. K (p. 222).

265. (CISSUS AMPELOPSIS Pers.) no common name; a rare vine of low woods. Leaves: grape-like, but smooth and thin, broadly oval, or heart-shaped, coarsely toothed. Fruit: bluish, inedible, like small grapes. Main STEM: sometimes with many short, leafy branches. B (Vol. II, p. 509).

266. MUSTANG GRAPE (Vitis candicans Engelm.) abundant vine of roadside thickets and woods. Leaves: large, angled, shallow-toothed, very wooly beneath; the leaves of young shoots are usually deeply, many-lobed in marked contrast to the older. Flowers: small, whitish, fragrant, in drooping clusters. Fruit: large as marbles, acid, but palatable, blackish, ripe July. K (p. 220).

267. SUMMER GRAPE (Vitis species) a vine of woods and roadside thickets. Leaves: large, unlobed to deeply lobed, wooly when young. Fruit: small, pleasant, ripe in autumn.

ST. JOHN’SWORT FAMILY

268. ST. ANDREW’S CROSS (Ascyrum hypericoides L.) low shrub of low, sandy woods, rather rare. Leaves: ½ to 1½ inches long, opposite, many remaining green through mild winters. Flowers: yellow, about ½ inch across, of four petals, falling early; two of four sepals larger, leaflike, clasping bud or seed-pod between them. Fruit: several small seeds in each disk-like pod, tardily deciduous. B (Vol. II, p. 528).