Prairie sumac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prairie sumac |
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Scientific classification | |
Genus: |
Rhus
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Species: |
lanceolata
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Synonyms | |
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Rhus lanceolata, the prairie sumac, is a plant species native to Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.
Rhus lanceolatais 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.
Uses
Birds eat the fruit during the winter, and deer forage the foliage. The tannin-containing leaves have been used to tan leather.