Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Sapindales > Anacardiaceae > Rhus > Rhus ovata

Rhus ovata (sugar sumac)

Synonyms: Neostyphonia ovata (homotypic); Rhus ovata var. traskiae; Schmaltzia ovata (homotypic); Schmaltzia ovata var. traskiae

Wikipedia Abstract

Rhus ovata, also known as sugar sumac or sugar bush, is an evergreen shrub to small tree that grows in chaparral in dry canyons and south-facing slopes below 1300 m in Southern California, Arizona and Baja California.
View Wikipedia Record: Rhus ovata

Attributes

Allergen Potential [1]  High
Screening - Summer [2]  Dense
Screening - Winter [2]  Dense
Bloom Period [2]  Mid Spring
Drought Tolerance [2]  High
Edible [3]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Fire Tolerance [2]  Medium
Flower Type [3]  Dioecious
Frost Free Days [2]  6 months 20 days
Fruit/Seed Abundance [2]  Medium
Fruit/Seed Begin [2]  Spring
Fruit/Seed End [2]  Summer
Growth Form [2]  Multiple Stem
Growth Period [2]  Spring, Summer
Growth Rate [2]  Moderate
Hazards [3]  There are some suggestions that the sap of this species can cause a skin rash in susceptible people, but this has not been substantiated. See also notes in 'Cultivation Details'.
Leaf Type [3]  Evergreen
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Pollinators [3]  Bees
Propagation [2]  Bare Root, Container, Seed
Root Depth [2]  18 inches (46 cm)
Seed Spread Rate [2]  Slow
Seed Vigor [2]  Medium
Seeds Per [2]  22350 / lb (49273 / kg)
Shape/Orientation [2]  Semi-Erect
Structure [3]  Shrub
Usage [3]  The leaves are rich in tannin. They can be collected as they fall in the autumn and used as a brown dye or as a mordant; An oil is extracted from the seeds; It attains a tallow-like consistency on standing and is used to make candles. These burn brilliantly, though they emit a pungent smoke; Often planted in poor dry soils in America, where its extensive root system helps to prevent erosion;
Vegetative Spread Rate [2]  None
Flower Color [2]  White
Foliage Color [2]  Green
Fruit Color [2]  Red
Fall Conspicuous [2]  Yes
Fruit Conspicuous [2]  Yes
Height [3]  6.56 feet (2 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [2]  USDA Zone: 7 Low Temperature: 0 F° (-17.8 C°) → 10 F° (-12.2 C°)
Light Preference [2]  Full Sun
Soil Acidity [2]  Neutral
Soil Fertility [2]  Infertile
Water Use [2]  Low
View Plants For A Future Record : Rhus ovata

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve 5901 California, United States  
Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center 6101 California, United States
San Dimas Biosphere Reserve 17161 California, United States  

Predators

Caloptilia ovatiella[4]

Range Map

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Derived from Allergy-Free Gardening OPALS™, Thomas Leo Ogren (2000)
♦ 2USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 3Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 4HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0