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{{Taxobox

{{SPlantbox

| color = lightgreen

|familia=Anacardiaceae

| name = ''Rhus trilobata''

|genus=Rhus

| image = Rhus trilobata 1.jpg

|species=trilobata

| image_width = 240px

|common_name=sourberry, skunkbush, three-leaf sumac

| image_caption = Green berries

|habit=shrub

| regnum = [[Plant]]ae

|Min ht metric=cm

| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]

|Temp Metric=°F

| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]

|jumpin=This is the plant information box - for information on light; water; zones; height; etc. If it is mostly empty you can help grow this page by clicking on the edit tab and filling in the blanks!

| ordo = [[Sapindales]]

|image=Rhus trilobata 1.jpg

|image_width=240

| genus = ''[[Rhus]]''

|image_caption=Green berries

| species = '''''R. trilobata'''''

| binomial = ''Rhus trilobata''

| binomial_authority = [[Thomas Nuttall|Nutt.]]

}}

}}

The North American [[sumac]] '''''Rhus trilobata''''' has the common names '''sourberry''' and '''skunkbush'''. It is native to the western half of Canada and the United States and extends south into northern Mexico. It can be found from deserts to mountain peaks up to about 7,000 feet in elevation.

'''''Rhus trilobata''''' is a shrub in the [[sumac]] genus (''Rhus'') with the [[common name]]s '''sourberry''', '''skunkbush''', and '''three-leaf sumac'''. It is native to the western half of Canada and the United States and extends south into northern Mexico. It can be found from deserts to mountain peaks up to about 7,000 feet in elevation.

Skunkbush sumac grows in many types of plant communities, such as the grasslands east of the [[Rocky Mountains]], mountainous shrubland, pine, juniper, and fir forests, wetlands, [[California chaparral and woodlands|oak woodlands, and chaparral]]. The plant is destroyed above ground by [[wildfire]] but rarely killed, and will readily sprout back up in burned areas. It is sometimes planted for [[erosion]] control and landscaping, and is a plant used for reclaiming barren land stripped by [[mining]].

This species closely resembles other members of the genus that have leaves with three "leaflets" ("trifoliate" leaves).  These include ''[[Rhus aromatica]]'', native to eastern North America, and [[western Poison-oak]]. The shape of the leaflets and the habit of the shrub make this species, like some other ''Rhus'', resemble small-leafed oaks (''[[Quercus]]'').

The foliage has a very strong scent. The aroma is medicinal or bitter, disagreeable enough to some to have gained the plant the name skunkbush. At first glance the plant resembles [[Western Poison-oak|poison oak]] due to the three leaflets on each leaf. They are green when new and turn orange and brown in the fall. The twigs are fuzzy when new, and turn sleek with age. They blossom into white or light yellow flowers. The plant yields sticky berries which have an aroma similar to limes. The berries are sour but edible. They can be baked into bread or mixed into porridge or soup, or steeped to make a tea or tart beverage similar to lemonade. The acidity comes from [[tannic acid|tannic]] and [[gallic acid]]s. The flowers are animal-pollinated and the seeds are dispersed by animals that eat the berries. The shrub also reproduces vegetatively, sending up sprouts several meters away and forming thickets.

The leaves have a very strong scent when crushed. The aroma is medicinal or bitter, disagreeable enough to some to have gained the plant the name skunkbush. The leaves are green when new and turn orange and brown in the fall. The twigs are fuzzy when new, and turn sleek with age. The flowers, borne on small catkins ("short shoots"), are white or light yellow. Edible fruit, the plant yields hairy and slightly sticky red berries which have an aroma similar to limes and a very sour taste. The acidity comes from [[tannic acid|tannic]] and [[gallic acid]]s. The flowers are animal-pollinated and the seeds are dispersed by animals that eat the berries. The shrub also reproduces vegetatively, sending up sprouts several meters away and forming thickets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

==External links==

==External links==

*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RHTR USDA Plants Profile]

*{{wplink}}