Yes, this is Sumac.. Thnaks for the flower picture , I never went too near to look this closely, Hope you wer safe distance this time around.
colloquially called Poison sumac... name implies stay away from its sap or the "oil" on the surface of the leaves...just like POiSON IVY and POISON OAK" in north america, grows in road sides where the disturbed soil is ... Usually all SUMACs do not grow as majestically tall or wide as the Ailanthus altissima... so once they are fully grown they can be distuinguished... and the sumac leaves also turn red before falling off in winter. DID you ever get to photograph their berries? USha di On Sat, Aug 11, 2012 at 12:55 AM, Gurcharan Singh <[email protected]>wrote: > *Rhus succedanea* var. *himalaica* Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 2:12. 1876. > > Tree can be confused with Ailanthus altissima also growing commonly in > Kashmir valley, but can be differentiated by much thinner totally entire > glabrous leaves (somewhat thicker, serrate and hairy beneath in A. > altissima), smaller flower and fruit being a small up to 1 cm long drupe > (3-5 cm long samara in A. altissima). Deciduous tree with glabrous > branches; leaves up to 50 cm long, imparipinnate with 9-13 leaflets, > menbranous; flowers pale yellowish-white, in pubescent panicles shorter > than leaves; calyx lobes ovate-obtuse; petals pale yellowish-green; styles > 3; fruit a drupe up to 8 mm broad, slightly longer, yellowish brown. > > I was first introduced to this tree back in 1971 when returning after a > collection trip to Dachhigam sanctuary (my research area) I rushed to a > doctor with lots of itching and blisters on my arms and hands. Doctor asked > me if I had touched some new plant, and I got the answer. Juice of this > plant (cut twigs in my case) can cause skin irritation. > Photographed from Dachhigam, Kashmir. > > -- > Dr. Gurcharan Singh > Retired Associate Professor > SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 > Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. > Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 > http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ > http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ > > -- > > > > -- Usha di =========== --
