Rhus ovata (Sugar Bush)

3/11/01 Charmless Wilderness Park, Santa Monica Mountains, 

Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA

3/24/17 Dripping Springs Campground, Agua Tibia Wilderness, 
Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, CA

3/23/19 Harford Springs Reserve, Gavilan Hills,
Riverside County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Sugar Bush

SPECIES: Rhus ovata

FAMILY: Anacardiaceae (Sumac Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 3/11/2001

LOCATION: Charmlee Wilderness Park, Santa Monica Mountains, Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Shrub, small tree, 2–10 m; flowers bisexual or pistillate

Leaf simple, evergreen; petiole 10–30 mm; blade 3–8 cm, 3–8 cm wide, widely ovate to widely elliptic, ± leathery, folded along midrib, tip ± acute to acuminate, margin entire

Inflorescence: branches stout in bud; bractlets < 2 mm

Flower: sepals red, margins ciliate; petals white to pinkish

Fruit 6–8 mm diam, glandular-hairy, reddish

Ecology: Canyons, generally s-facing slopes, chaparral

Elevation: < 1300 m.  

Bioregional distribution: Southwestern California

Distribution outside California: Arizona, Baja California

Cult elsewhere. Hybridizes with  R. integrifolia. 

Horticultural information: DRN, DRY: 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.