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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Rhus ovata
| image = Rhus ovata.jpg
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Anacardiaceae]]
| genus = [[Rhus]]
| species = '''''R. ovata'''''
| binomial = ''Rhus ovata''
}}
'''''Rhus ovata''''' ([[S.Watson]]), also known as '''Sugar Bush''' or '''Sugar Sumac''', 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]]. Its size ranges from 2 – 10 m tall and it has a rounded appearance. ''Rhus ovata'' often hybridizes with ''Rhus integrifolia''.
The [[twigs]] of ''Rhus ovata'' are thick and reddish in color. Its [[foliage]] consists of dark green, leathery, ovate leaves that are folded along the [[midrib]]. The leaf arrangement is alternate. Its [[inflorescences]] which occur at the ends of [[branches]] consist of small, 5-petaled, [[flowers]] that appear to be pink, but upon closer examination actually have white to pink [[petals]] with red [[sepals]]. Additionally, the [[flowers]] may be either bisexual or pistillate. The [[fruit]] is a reddish, sticky [[drupe]], and is small, about 6 – 8 mm in [[diameter]].
== Uses ==
''Rhus ovata'' can be used in the landscape. It likes well-drained [[soil]] in a sunny location with little water once established since it is very [[drought]] tolerant. It does not handle [[pruning]] well, however.
The fruit of ''Rhus ovata'' can be used to make a drink similar to [[lemonade]]. The [[fruit]] and [[flowers]] are also popular with [[birds]] and [[butterflies]] and the [[plant]] itself provides good [[Habitat (ecology)|habitat]] for [[bird]]s.
== References and External links ==
*Saunders, Charles Francis. ''Edible and Useful Wild Plants'', Dover Publications Inc., New York, 1976.
*Schmidt, Marjorie G. ''Growing California Native Plants'', University of California Press, 1980.
*[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Rhus+ovata Jepson Flora Project: Rhus ovata]
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RHOV USDA Plants Profile: Rhus ovata]
*[http://biology.csusb.edu/PlantGuideFolder/RhusOvata/RhusOvataPage.htm Rhus ovata photos]
*[http://www.arizonensis.org/sonoran/fieldguide/rhus_ovata.html Sonoran Desert Field Guide]
[[Category:Flora of California]]
[[Category:Flora of Baja California]]
[[Category:Flora of Arizona]]
[[Category:Trees_of_Arizona]]
[[Category:Sapindales]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Rhus ovata
| image = Rhus ovata.jpg
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Anacardiaceae]]
| genus = [[Rhus]]
| species = '''''R. ovata'''''
| binomial = ''Rhus ovata''
}}
'''''Rhus ovata''''' ([[S.Watson]]), also known as '''Sugar Bush''' or '''Sugar Sumac''', 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]]. Its size ranges from 2 – 10 m tall and it has a rounded appearance. ''Rhus ovata'' often hybridizes with ''Rhus integrifolia''.
The [[twigs]] of ''Rhus ovata'' are thick and reddish in color. Its [[foliage]] consists of dark green, leathery, ovate leaves that are folded along the [[midrib]]. The leaf arrangement is alternate. Its [[inflorescences]] which occur at the ends of [[branches]] consist of small, 5-petaled, [[flowers]] that appear to be pink, but upon closer examination actually have white to pink [[petals]] with red [[sepals]]. Additionally, the [[flowers]] may be either bisexual or pistillate. The [[fruit]] is a reddish, sticky [[drupe]], and is small, about 6 – 8 mm in [[diameter]].
== Uses ==
''Rhus ovata'' can be used in the landscape. It likes well-drained [[soil]] in a sunny location with little water once established since it is very [[drought]] tolerant. It does not handle [[pruning]] well, however.
The fruit of ''Rhus ovata'' can be used to make a drink similar to [[lemonade]]. The [[fruit]] and [[flowers]] are also popular with [[birds]] and [[butterflies]] and the [[plant]] itself provides good [[Habitat (ecology)|habitat]] for [[bird]]s.
== References and External links ==
*Saunders, Charles Francis. ''Edible and Useful Wild Plants'', Dover Publications Inc., New York, 1976.
*Schmidt, Marjorie G. ''Growing California Native Plants'', University of California Press, 1980.
*[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Rhus+ovata Jepson Flora Project: Rhus ovata]
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RHOV USDA Plants Profile: Rhus ovata]
*[http://biology.csusb.edu/PlantGuideFolder/RhusOvata/RhusOvataPage.htm Rhus ovata photos]
*[http://www.arizonensis.org/sonoran/fieldguide/rhus_ovata.html Sonoran Desert Field Guide]
[[Category:Flora of California]]
[[Category:Flora of Baja California]]
[[Category:Flora of Arizona]]
[[Category:Trees_of_Arizona]]
[[Category:Sapindales]]
