Sumach.
Rhus.
A shrub, native of warmer countries, but common in our gardens. It is of a singular appearance. It does not grow more than ten or twelve feet high; the wood is brittle, and the bark is brown. The leaves are long and very beautiful, each consists of a great many pairs of smaller leaves, with an odd one at the end; these are singly, oblong, and of a dark green, and serrated at the edges. The flowers are white; they grow in very large, thick, and long clusters, and are succeeded by flat seeds, hairy and roundish and of an austere astringent taste. There are several other kinds of sumach in the gardens of curious people, some of them much more beautiful, but this is the kind that is to be preferred for its medicinal virtues.
The seeds, dried and powdered, stop purgings, and the overflowings of the menses. The fresh tops have also great effect in strengthening the stomach and bowels; they are best taken in infusion. The bark of the root has the same virtue; but the seeds have it in the greatest degree.
