What plant is the winged sumac? Get to know the winged sumac of the cashew family

Scientific name: Rhus typhina

Common name: winged sumac

Family and genus: Anacardiaceae, genus Rhus

This family has about 60 genera and more than 600 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, with a few extending into the northern temperate zone.

China has 16 genera and 54 species, mainly distributed in the provinces south of the Yangtze River.

Morphological characteristics:

Shrub or small tree, tree height 3-5m. Odd-pinnate compound leaves, 9-17 leaflets, lanceolate-oblong, 5-12cm long, terminal panicle, 10-20cm long, flowers small, pale green. Fruit stone dark red.

Flowering period July-August, fruiting period September-October.

It matures early; generally it can flower and bear fruit at 4 years old, and can last for about 30 years.

Growth habits:

Highly adaptable, cold-resistant, drought-resistant, salt-alkali tolerant, with a well-developed root system and strong sprouting ability, fast-growing; although its lifespan is short, its natural regeneration ability is strong. Even after the leaves fall in winter, the female plants are still covered with "torches," which is quite peculiar.

A sun-loving tree species with extremely strong adaptability. It prefers to grow on river valley beaches, dike rocks and the edges of swamps, and can also tolerate arid and barren conditions, growing on gravelly hillsides and wasteland.

Propagation:

It can be propagated by sowing, dividing suckers and root cuttings. For sowing, collect mature fruit clusters in September, sun-dry them to thresh the seeds, and stratify them in low-temperature wet sand until spring planting the following year. Dividing suckers is digging up healthy root-sucker seedlings, planting them with a little of the fibrous roots, and they will survive. Root cutting is collecting the leftover roots after seedlings leave the nursery and burying them directly in the nursery field to raise seedlings.

Moving and planting should be carried out from late autumn after leaf fall to early next spring before bud break. When planting, the seedling should be straight and the roots spread out; after planting, large seedlings should be given support stakes.

Uses:

It is a species for foliage and fruit viewing. Suitable for clump planting and mass planting, it is an excellent colorful-leaf tree species for embellishing landscapes and gardening.

The tree's root system is relatively shallow, with well-developed horizontal roots and very strong sprouting power from the roots, making it a very good tree species for slope protection, dike reinforcement and beach and sand fixation. The female inflorescences and fruit clusters are bright red, hanging on the branches in summer and autumn, extremely beautiful; the autumn leaves turn red, very vivid.

It is an ideal tree species for soil and water conservation and landscaping and scenic afforestation. The bark and leaves contain tannins and are a raw material for extracting tannic acid; the fruit contains citric acid and vitamin C and can be made into beverages; the seeds contain oil and wax, which can be used to make soap and candles; the wood is yellow, with dense and beautiful grain, and can be carved or turned into handicrafts; the root bark can be used medicinally.

The tree grows to a height of more than 2.0m; in autumn the red leaves cover the mountains, and the scenery is pleasant.

The cashew belongs to the Anacardiaceae family and is one species of the genus Anacardium.

Its Latin scientific name is "Anacardium occidentale". The cashew is a shrub or small tree, 4-10 m tall, with simple, herbaceous, obovate leaves, 8-14 cm long and 6-8.5 cm wide, with a rounded apex, entire margins and no hairs. The panicle is many-flowered and densely clustered, with yellow flowers. The ovary is obovate, and the drupe is kidney-shaped, 2-2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. At the base of the fruit there is a large pear-shaped fleshy false fruit, formed by the enlargement and fleshy thickening of the flower receptacle. Only the kidney-shaped drupe is the true fruit; the cashews usually sold in shops are this kidney-shaped drupe. The fruit skin and seed coat have both been removed, leaving only the slightly white, flat and curved kernel, which is the cotyledon and is the edible part.

The cashew is native to tropical America and is now widely cultivated around the world. It is also grown in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan, China. Besides the kidney-shaped drupe being edible, its fleshy false fruit is also edible, and can be eaten raw or made into juice, jam and candied fruit, and can also be used to make wine. The cashew kernel has a high oil content and can be made into high-grade edible oil. The oil from its shell can be used as medicine and is also a preservative.