Searsia lancea
Common name:
African Sumac
Willow Rhus
Karee
Pronunciation:
seer-SEE-uh
Family:
Anacardiaceae
Genus:
Synonyms:
Rhus lancea
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Small evergreen tree, low branching, open, slow growing to 25 ft (7.6 m), upright, but branchlets weeping; bark gray or brown, rough. Leaves alternate, compound, 3 willow-like leaflets (trifoliate), each leaflet linear-lanceolate (terminal leaflet 12 cm × 1.5 cm), margin usually entire, rarely serrate, dark green above, paler to gray below. Dioecious - male and female plants. Flowers small, green-yellow, in dense, terminal clusters (panicles). Fruit somewhat spherical, about 5 mm, slightly asymmetrical, green then yellow, red or brown.
- Sun. Well-drained soil. Tolerates high summer temperatures, but may need some summer water in a desert environment. Susceptible to Texas root rot. Some in the arid Southwest of the U.S. concider it an invasive weed. It produces abundant seeds and also spreads by suckers and reportedly competes with native plants for water.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 9 Native to South Africa.
- Taxonomic change: Most of the Rhus species in southern Africa have now been placed in the genus Searsia, this incluces Rhus lancea, now Searsia lancea (World Flora Online, 2026).
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, in a desert habitat
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plant habit
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branch with leaves
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leaves and immature fruit
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trunk, bark
