We were walking near the Santa Fe Dam Nature Center and saw a lot of Sugar Bush with clusters of red fruits, which made me want to learn about it. It grows in chaparral in dry canyons and slopes below 1300 meter in Southern California, Arizona and Baja California. The flowers are small. They are gynodioecious and self-incompatible. The fruit is a small reddish, sticky drupe and it is said to be edible.
我們在聖達菲大壩自然中心附近走路，看到許多Sugar Bush長滿了一串串紅色果實，讓我想要認識它。它生長在南加州、亞利桑那州和下加利福尼亞州1300公尺以下的乾燥峽谷和斜坡上的灌木叢中。花很小。它們是雌雄異體並且自交不親合。果實是一種帶紅色的粘性小核果，據說可以食用。
Photo Date: 2023.01.18,2023.01.26 Location: Santa Fe Dam, California
Photo Date: 2023.02.21 Location: Los Angeles Arboretum
Notes 筆記
- Rhus ovata, commonly known as sugar bush or sugar sumac, is a shrub or small tree found growing in the canyons and slopes of the chaparral and related ecosystems in Southern California, Arizona, Baja California and Baja California Sur. In the southern part of it's range (in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties) Rhus ovata generally grows in the foothills and mountains, and the closely related Rhus integrifolia (Lemonade Berry) grows closer to the coast. The epithet ovata refers to the egg-shaped leaves present on the plant.
- The flowers are small, composed of 5 white to pink petals and 5 reddish sepals with ciliate margins. They are gynodioecious and self-incompatible. Some plants may only have female flowers, others may be hermaphroditic with bisexual flowers, and some with a combination of both male-sterile female flowers and bisexual flowers. The flowers bloom from March to May, and a variety of bee species may be seen visiting the flowers. After pollination, fruits mature over the summer and may be collected from July to August.
- The fruit is a reddish, hairy and sticky drupe, with a flattened appearance, producing a single seed surrounded by a stony endocarp. Male-sterile plants tend to set the most fruits.
- Rhus ovata was used by the Cahuilla to treat colds and coughs, by making a tea with the leaves. It was also used as food, by eating the fresh fruits raw, dried, or ground into mush. The Cahuilla were also reported to boiled flower cluster and consume them. Rhus plants have been confirmed to contain cirtain chemicals which may have antimicrobial properties, and high concentrations of R. ovata extract have been proven to have antibacterial properties that impede the growth of gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus.
- The Kumeyaay have diverse uses for the plant, including for food, medicine, and as firewood or construction material. Medicinal uses of the plant are primarily for treatment of conditions that affect the female reproductive system. The leaves and stems, once cut, are made into a tea, which works as an anesthetic for women going through labor.
- Rhus ovata (漆樹?)，通常被稱為糖灌木(Sugar bush)或糖漆樹(Sugar sumac)，是一種灌木或小樹，生長在南加州、亞利桑那州、下加利福尼亞州和南下加利福尼亞州的叢林和相關生態系統的峽谷和斜坡上。在其分佈範圍的南部（洛杉磯、奧蘭治和聖地亞哥縣），漆樹通常生長在山麓和山區，而密切相關的 Rhus integrifolia（檸檬水漿果）則生長在離海岸較近的地方。種名部分 ovata 是指植物上的蛋形葉子。
- 花很小，有5個白色到粉紅色的花瓣和5個帶纖毛邊緣的微紅色萼片。它們是雌雄異體並且自交不親合。有一些可能只有雌花，另一些可能是兩性花的雌雄同體，還有一些是雄性不育雌花和兩性花的組合。3月到5月開花，可以看到各種蜜蜂來訪。授粉後，果實在夏季成熟，可在7月至8月採收。
- 果實是微紅色、多毛且粘稠的核果，外觀扁平，生出一粒被石質內果皮包圍的種子。雄性不育植物往往結出最多的果實。
- 卡惠拉(Cahuilla)人用漆樹樹葉泡茶來治療感冒和咳嗽。它也被用作食物，可生吃新鮮的水果、曬乾或磨成糊狀。據報導卡惠拉人還煮過花簇並食用它們。已證實漆樹植物含有某些可能具有抗菌特性的化學物質，高濃度的 R. ovata 提取物已被證明具有抗菌特性，可阻礙葡萄球菌等革蘭氏陽性菌的生長。
- Kumeyaay也用這種植物在多種用途上，包括食物、藥物以及用作木柴或建築材料。它的藥用用途主要是用於治療影響女性生殖系統的疾病。葉子和莖一旦被切割，就會被製成茶，作為分娩婦女的麻醉劑。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Rhus ovata
- California Native Plant Society (Calscape.org): Sugar Bush
Plants Posts 植物的帖子