- Any plant of the genus Rhus, shrubs or small trees with
usually compound leaves and clusters of small flowers. Some of the
species are used in tanning, some in dyeing, and some in medicine. One,
the Japanese Rhus vernicifera, yields the celebrated Japan varnish, or
lacquer. - The powdered leaves, peduncles, and young branches of
certain species of the sumac plant, used in tanning and dyeing.
Definition
[ n.]