Identifier: northamericansyl_a05mich (find matches)
Title: The North American sylva; or, A description of the forest trees of the United States, Canada and Nova Scotia. Considered particularly with respect to their use in the arts and their introduction into commerce. To which is added a description of the most useful of the European forest trees ..
Year: 1865 (1860s)
Authors: Michaux, François André, 1770-1855. cn Nuttall, Thomas, 1786-1859. 1n Smith, J. Jay (John Jay), 1798-1881
Subjects: Trees
Publisher: Philadelphia, Rice, Rutter & co.
Contributing Library: University of Pittsburgh Library System
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

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table for furniture. Like several other native species of the genus, it is to someindividuals poisonous to the touch. This and the MountainSumach are called, in St. Domingo, Mountain Manchineel,from the poisonous qualities of the juice they exude. Thebranches are erect and smooth. The leaves come out at theends of the branches, and are unequally pinnate, usually twopair and an odd one, but sometimes three pair and a terminalleaflet. The leaves are very smooth and coriaceous, quite en-tire, upon long petioles; the leaflets are usually broad-ovate andacuminate, on longish, partial petioles, the upper pair unequalat the base; sometimes they are of an elliptic form, and occa-sionally obtuse and rounded at the extremity. The flowers aredioecious ; in terminal, loose, open, spreading panicles, which areabout the length of the leaves; the bractes are very small.Tlie calyx is five-parted, the segments ovate and dilated with membranous margins. Petals five, ovate, yellowish white, OS pii-xxx:.
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(tirii/ Smnav/v, Kliiis .\l(to;)iiun SurmCe , tleti/fjC C 0 R A L S U M A C n. 69 covered with dark longitudinal lines. Stamens five, not ex-serted. In the fertile flower, the stigma appears to be verysmall and unequally three-lobed. The berries are oblong,smooth, somewhat oblique, scarlet, and as large as peas; thenut is thin and chartaceous. A transparent gum, in small quantities, exudes spontaneouslyfrom the peduncles of the flowers, which probably is of thenature of varnish. Among the useful and remarkable species of this extensivegenus may be mentioned the Elm-Leaved Sumach, (llhii^ Co-riaria,) which is so far harmless as occasionally to be employedfor culinary purposes, the seeds being commonly used, in Aleppo,at meals to provoke an appetite. The leaves and seeds arealso used in medicine as astringent and styptic applications.From time immemorial, it has been employed, like oak bark,for tanning leather, and that of Turkey is chiefly tanned withthis plant. The pulp of the drupes

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