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Anacardiaceae FAMILY Vulnerable

Rhus coriaria

Rhus coriaria

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The genus Rhus is being treated in its strict sense here, so it excludes the many species with highly toxic and irritant sap (these are included in Toxicodendron). Although the two genera are very similar, it is relatively simple to distinguish which is which, the poisonous species (Toxicodendron) have axillary panicles and smooth fruits whilst non-poisonous species (Rhus) have compound terminal panicles and fruits covered with acid crimson hairs[1, 2]. Whilst the genus Rhus in this treatment is generally seen as having a non-toxic sap there are some suggestions that the sap of some species in the genus (including this one[3]) can cause a skin rash in susceptible people.

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
Growth—

Rhus coriaria is not very cold-hardy, tolerating short-lived temperatures down to around -5°c when it is fully dormant, and is unlikely to succeed outdoors in any but the mildest parts of the temperate zone[4, 5]. Another report says that the plant is quite hardy and is often grown in British gardens[2]. The young growth in spring is more tender, and can be damaged by late frosts. Succeeds in a well-drained fertile soil in full sun[4, 5]. Unlike most members of this genus, this species is hermaphrodite[5]. The form 'Humilior' from Italy is smaller growing[6]. Plants have brittle branches and these can be broken off in strong winds[5]. Plants are also susceptible to coral spot fungus[4]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[5].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in hot water (starting at a temperature of 80 - 90c and allowing it to cool) prior to sowing in order to leach out any germination inhibitors[5]. The stored seed also needs hot water treatment and can be sown in early spring in a cold frame[5]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame[5]. Root cuttings 4cm long taken in December and potted up vertically in a greenhouse. Good percentage[7, 5]. Suckers in late autumn to winter[5]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Rhus+coriaria>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  3. [3]Flowers of the Mediterranean. — Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. · Hogarth Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 ↩︎A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
  4. [4]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  7. [7]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  8. [8]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  9. [9]Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1980 · ISBN 0-19-217626-9 ↩︎A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
  10. [10]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  12. [12]Plants Consumed by Man. — Brouk. B. · Academic Press · 1975 · ISBN 0-12-136450-x ↩︎Readable but not very comprehensive.
  13. [13]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  14. [14]Ethnobotany of the Hawraman Region of Kurdistan, Iraq — Ahmad S.A. & Askari A.A. · 2015 · http://10.3100/hpib.v20iss1.2015.n8 · ISBN 1938-2944 ↩︎
  15. [15]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  16. [16]Traditional medicine in Turkey X. Folk medicine in Central Anatolia — Sezik E. et al · 2001 ↩︎Traditional medicinal uses of 103 plants in Turkey
  17. [17]A Weavers Garden — Buchanan. R. · McGraw-Hill Contemporary · 1987 · ISBN 0934026289 ↩︎Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.
  18. [18]Herbs of Greece. — Niebuhr. A. D. · Herb Society of America. · 1970 · ISBN - ↩︎A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.
  19. [19]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
  20. [20]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  21. [21]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  22. [22]Complete Guide to Herbs. — Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. · Rodale Press · 1979 · ISBN 0-87857-262-7 ↩︎A good herbal.
  23. [23]Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1969 · ISBN 0192176218 ↩︎An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
  24. [24]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.