Part 59

Fruit: Cluster of red berries, each berry round, smooth, up to ⅛ inch in diameter, containing a single brown seed.

Wood: Light in weight, soft, pale.

Use: Sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Habitat: Woods, fields, disturbed areas.

Range: Nova Scotia across to Manitoba and North Dakota, south to Texas, east to Florida; also in Mexico.

Distinguishing Features: This species lacks the winged leaf stalks of the Shining Sumac and lacks the velvety twigs of the Staghorn Sumac.

STAGHORN SUMAC Rhus typhina L.

Growth Form: Small to medium tree up to 40 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 15 inches; crown broadly rounded or sometimes flat.

Bark: Dark brown, smooth at first, becoming scaly in age.

Twigs: Stout, dark brown, covered by velvety hairs; leaf scars nearly encircling the twigs, with 6-9 bundle traces.

Buds: More or less rounded, hairy, about ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with up to 31 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped, up to 5 inches long, less than 2 inches broad, pointed at the tip, tapering or rounded at the usually asymmetrical base, toothed along the edges, dark green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth except for the hairy veins on the lower surface. The leaves turn purple to red to orange in the autumn.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate sometimes borne on separate plants, sometimes on the same plant, sometimes in the same flower, numerous in much branched clusters, appearing from June to August, each flower greenish, greenish-yellow, or reddish.

Fruit: Dense cluster of red berries, each berry round, conspicuously hairy, up to ⅛ inch in diameter, containing a single brown seed.

Wood: Light in weight, soft, coarse-grained, orange.

Use: Sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Habitat: Woods and thickets.

Range: Nova Scotia across to Minnesota, south to Iowa and Kentucky, east to North Carolina.

Distinguishing Features: The densely velvety twigs are distinctive for this species.

POISON SUMAC Rhus vernix L.

Growth Form: Small tree or shrub to 20 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 5 inches; crown narrowly rounded.

Bark: Gray, smooth.

Twigs: Rather stout, smooth, orange-brown to gray; leaf scars alternate, rounded except for where the bud is, with several bundle traces.

Buds: Rounded or somewhat pointed, about ¼ inch in diameter, except for the larger, terminal one, hairy, often purplish.

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with 7-13 leaflets; leaflets elliptic to obovate, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 4 inches long, up to half as wide, dark green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and usually smooth on the lower surface, the edges without teeth. The leaves turn a brilliant scarlet in the autumn.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate sometimes borne on separate plants, sometimes on the same plant, sometimes in the same flower, numerous in much branched clusters, appearing from May to July, each flower greenish-yellow, small.

Fruit: Cluster of white or creamy berries, each berry round, smooth, shiny, up to ½ inch in diameter, containing a single yellow seed.

Wood: Soft, light in weight, coarse-grained, yellow-brown.