Rhus lanceolata explained

Rhus lanceolata, the prairie sumac, is a species of plant native to the south-western United States (Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico), and northern Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas).^{[1] [2]}

Rhus lanceolata is a shrub or small tree up to 9 m (30 feet) tall, reproducing by means of underground rhizomes. Leaves are pinnately compound with 13-17 lanceolate leaflets and a winged rachis. Leaflets are entire (untoothed) or with small teeth, green and shiny above but whitish and pubescent below. Flowers are born in a panicle up to 14 cm (5.6 inches) tall. Flowers are white to greenish. Fruits are lens-shaped, about 6 mm (0.25 inches) across, dark red and hairy.^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

Uses

Birds eat the fruit during the winter, and deer forage the foliage. The tannin-containing leaves have been used to tan leather.^[8]

Notes and References

1. http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=931 Virginia Tech Plant Data Sheet
2. http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/little/rhuslanc.pdf US Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps, Rhus lanceolata
3. Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.
4. Britton, Nathaniel Lord, & Shafer, John Adolph. 1908. North American Trees 606.
5. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/377615#page/738/mode/1up Small, John Kunkel. 1903. Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
6. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/rhuslanceolata.htm Texas Native Plants Database, Aggie horticulture, Texas A&M University
7. http://www.bio.utexas.edu/courses/bio406d/images/pics/ana/rhus_lanceolata.htm University of Texas, BIO406D, Introduction to the Flora of Central Texas, Michael Gruenstaeudl, Rhus lanceolata
8. Book: Little, Elbert L.. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. Knopf. New York. 1980. 0-394-50760-6. 550–51.