Hank Miller

Thank you for your comments.
Fred, I think the reason this species is referred to as a rhus is because of the tri-foilaiar nature of the foilage. It is my understanding that things like poison ivy, oak and sumac were also clasified as rhus...., again because of the tri-foiliar shape of the leaves. I believe they recently have been given new names or classifications to reflect their toxic nature.

Charles, it is my intention to continue training this kuni bush as a bunjin or literati style bonsai. I feel that because of the lack of taper on the trunk one needs foilage pads lower down on the trunk. What I am pleased and excited about in terms of using this species for a literati is the fact that the foilage reduces extremely well and budding back on old wood is very common. Furthermore the new growth hardens up reasonably quickly. For these reasons it is easy to get good ramification in the primary branches and extremely small dense foilage pads. Unfortunately this does not show up all that well in the photo.
Hank