Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) General Description A large, loose, open-spreading shrub with a flattish crown. The spice we see in brick and mortar specialty stores and online is usually imported and derived from a Mediterranean sumac species, Rhus coriaria. It is found in most regions of NC. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. The one above is called shining or winged sumac (Rhus copallinum), named for its glossy, compound leaves and the wings on the stems of the leaves. Tolerant of black walnut toxicity and aerial salt spray. Staghorn Sumac has leaves that have a hairy leaf stem and rachis, the stem that the leaflets are attached to. Leaves turn red in fall. The leaves are similar looking to the Staghorn Sumac, and especially the Smooth Sumac at first glance - they are compound leaves. We facilitate and provide opportunity for all citizens to use, enjoy, and learn about these resources. Leaves are alternate, feather-compound, 12–16 inches long, with 15–23 leaflets; central leaf-stem smooth, lacking wings; leaflets with tip pointed, base rounded, margins coarsely toothed; upper surface dark green, shiny; lower surface lighter to conspicuously white, smooth; broken leaves exude a white sticky sap. Smooth sumac can be a shrub or small tree growing up to 3 meters in height. Within a submenu, use escape to move to top level menu parent. Leaves of tulip poplar and smooth sumac were shed early when exposed to short days. Smooth sumac leaves are feather-compound, 12–16 inches long, with 15–23 coarsely-toothed leaflets. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. In contrast, Staghorn Sumac (Rhus hirta) has brownish hairs on its stems and leaf rachises, Winged Sumac (Rhus copallina) has winged rachises on its leaves, and Fragrant Sumac … Use enter to activate. This drink is made by soaking the drupes in cool water, rubbing them to extract the essence, straining the liquid through a cotton cloth, and sweetening it. A cultivated variety has much-dissected fernlike leaves. Statewide. The First Nation civilization and major economic center known as Cahokia, an extensive city and network of commerce among many ancient peoples in the Midwest, had quite the reach and influence all along the Mississippi River – including the Upper Mississippi area … The berries, roots, inner bark, and leaves of smooth and staghorn sumac were used to make dyes of various colors. Leaves can be collected as they fall in the autumn and used as a brown dye or as a mordant. Smooth sumac often grows in stands and seems to like sunny banks. The new bark on the branches is relatively smooth. Identifying poison sumac – which are different species – from the real thing requires a skilled understanding in subtle differences of leaves, flowers, bark, and berries. If you learn how to identify the plant by its bark, then you will be able to avoid coming into contact with poison sumac in winter (after it has lost its leaves). 10 to 15 feet high and wide. A large, colony-forming, native shrub best used in mass plantings. The Natchez used the root of fragrant sumac to treat boils. Its red berries, borne on erect spires above the leaves, are hairy. Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menus and submenus. Our future. There’s a good chance it may be a toxic imitator. Similar Images . This native but sometimes aggressive shrub occurs in clumps or colonies and spreads by seeds and rootstocks. The upper branches of … Smooth sumac is used to treat a large number of ailments, particularly mouth and throat sores, burns, to control diarrhea, and to promote urination. The remaining berries on the seed pod of a Smooth Sumac tree in mid-winter. Smooth sumac is common in upland prairies, thickets, fence rows, idle fields, borders and openings of woods, disturbed sites, roadsides, and along railroads. Our trees. long (45 cm), warms up to brilliant shades of red and orange in fall. You’ll see a large grouping of these shrubs growing in one spot. This is why picking some from your backyard isn’t recommend. Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) is a third related species that occurs in roughly the same range as smooth sumac and is identifiable by the “wings” or ridges along the stalks that produce leaves. Smooth sumac (R. glabra) is a sparse ly branched shrub not more than 15 feet tall. Sumac is a shrub or small tree, native to most of North America, although it is considered a nuisance in some places. Smooth sumac is a native plant found throughout the eastern United States. Find local MDC conservation agents, consultants, education specialists, and regional offices. Smooth sumac is native to and occurs nearly throughout the United States and into southern Canada; it is most common in the eastern United States. Grows in colonies resulting from stems sprouting from roots. Its foliage of shiny, deeply dissected, fern-like, deep green leaves, 18 in. These leaflets are a dull green on top with a waxy-white underside. To be safe, DO NOT touch a Sumac unless you see the red berry clusters like in the included picture below. It grows to a height of 6 metres (20 feet), with an open, flattened crown and a few stout spreading branches. Browse the curated collection and add your voice! The Morton Arboretum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that relies on the generosity of members and donors. Flower Description: Clusters of flowers are small, yellow-green and each flower forms into a … In North America, the smooth sumac (R. glabra) and the staghorn sumac (R. typhina) are sometimes used to make a beverage termed "sumac-ade", "Indian lemonade", or "rhus juice". We protect and manage the fish, forest, and wildlife of the state. Add to Likebox #154795841 - Pisces Full Moon with a silhouette of a Staghorn Sumac tree,.. Flamboyant in autumn, Rhus glabra (Smooth Sumac) is an open, spreading, deciduous shrub with nice ornamental features. Dark green upper surface and lighter, smooth beneath.Fall Color is a stunning yellow to orange-red-purple combinations. In early autumn, smooth sumac turns brilliant purplish red, heralding the fall color season. Fruits August–September, compact clusters, erect, persistent; fruit round, about 1/8 in diameter, dark red with red velvety hairs, fleshy, 1-seeded; stone smooth, oval. You might not know it, but sumac-ade (made from either smooth sumac Rhus glabra, or staghorn sumac Rhus typhina) is in fact a tasty herbal relic and beverage straight from the Iowa area of ancient times, as well as the rest of the heart of the Midwest. The stems and twigs of smooth sumac are stout, angular, smooth, with a whitish coating that can be wiped off. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground. Smooth sumac is a native plant found throughout the eastern United States. use escape to move to top level menu parent. Most parts of this plant have been used medicinally by Native Americans and in folk medicine. Mature bark is thin, gray and develops fissures. Smooth and fragrant sumac are easy to distinguish. Dozens of types of birds eat the fruit. It is extremely drought tolerant and is often found in disturbed areas, open woodlands, prairies, on dry rocky hillsides, and in canyons. Get expert help from The Morton Arboretum Plant Clinic. Outstand-ing red fall color. Smooth sumac has 11-31 leaflets that are lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate (7-9 cm long). They are compact clusters of dark red fruits with velvety hairs. The stems and branches are hairless and covered with a whitish waxy coating. Leaflets all have shallow, toothed edges. Smooth sumac definition is - a common North American sumac (Rhus glabra) with glaucous stems and leaves. Both Bryce, who is a taxidermist, and I have observed rubs on the trees as the bark is apparently quite aromatic to bucks. Smooth sumac (R. glabra) is scattered statewide. Poison sumac is a close relative of poison ivy and poison oak, but it looks very different. Similar Images . Staghorn sumac parts were used in similar medicinal remedies. Similar to Staghorn sumac but shorter. The Poison Sumac has white, green or grey colored berries. You can search, browse, and learn more about the plants in our living collections by visiting our BRAHMS website. From top level menus, use escape to exit the menu. Green leaves turn blazing red in fall – they’re truly spectacular. Smooth Sumac has none of the hair on the leaves. Found in moist but not wet conditions.  The dark green summer foliage turns an excellent yellow to orange-red-purple combinations in fall. It can also become weedy and is one of the woody plants that can invade and degrade prairies. Fawn color, bordering on green, is obtained and this can be improved with the judicious use of mordents. In early autumn, smooth sumac turns brilliant purplish red, heralding the fall color season. Finely ground leaves and stems provide the dyeing and tanning agent sumac. Cankers, leaf spots, powdery mildew, verticillium wilt and rusts. Smooth sumac berries are distinctive and often persist through winter, if wildlife doesn't eat them first. The central leaf-stem is smooth and lacks wings. Occurs in upland prairies, thickets, fence rows, idle fields, borders and openings of woods, disturbed sites, roadsides, and along railroads. Smooth sumac is a thicket-forming shrub or small tree with a spreading crown. Bud Color - Gray-brown. The leaves are located.. Stop by, email, or call. It sprouts easily and grows rapidly. The Poison Sumac likes very damp or wet land. Alternate, shiny, pinnately-compound leaves with 15 to 25 leaflets. Smooth sumac fruits ripen in late summer. Spreads by underground suckers forming large colonies. #155205914 - Sumac leaves on a pink textured background. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menus and submenus. C-Value: 1Commonly found growing along roadways, fencerows, prairies and fields throughout North America and Canada. Dioecious. A good choice for difficult sites, mass plantings, screening and highways plantings. Poison sumac leaves have seven to fifteen leaflets that are commonly 2 to 4 inches long and 3⁄4 to 2 inches wide. • The leaves of the plant were smoked for asthma. Smooth sumac can get up to 20 feet tall, but is often between 10 and 20 feet in height. Aboveground stems are relatively short-lived while roots persist and form new stems. The leaflets are dark green and smooth above, and pale beneath, except along the midrib. Smooth sumac is an energetic colonizer of disturbed landscapes, as along highways, stabilizing raw soil. Unlike winged sumac, it lacks flattened leafy “wings” along the central stems of the compound leaves. Rhus copallina is also known as winged sumac because its glossy compound leaves have a wing along the central leaf vein. Leaves are alternate, feather-compound, 12–16 inches long, with 15–23 leaflets; central leaf-stem smooth, lacking wings; leaflets with tip pointed, base rounded, margins coarsely toothed; upper surface dark green, shiny; lower surface lighter to conspicuously white, smooth; broken leaves exude a white sticky sap. There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. Call 1-800-392-1111 to report poaching and arson. Similar species: There are four species of sumacs in Missouri. It can become a large shrub or small tree 10-20 feet tall and 10-12 feet wide. They decorate our roadsides. Young stems are stout, smooth and turn wine-red. Rabbits and deer eat the leaves and twigs. So while sumac fruit is not really a favorite wildlife food, it is an important winter survival food. Tolerant of clay soils. Building the urban forest for 2050. Each leaf is between 1 and 1-1/2 feet long and contains 11 to 31 leaflets. Leaflets are narrowed or rounded at the base and sharply pointed at the tip with finely serrated edges. Smooth_Sumac_Leaves_Fall_Color_9-1993.jpg, Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants. Older stems tend to die back but new stems are always emerging.Spreads by underground suckers forming large colonies.Full sun brings out the best fall color. Use up and down arrow keys to explore within a submenu. It is a thicket-forming shrub or small tree with a spreading crown. Female plants produce scarlet, hairy terminal fruits in summer and persistent into winter.Â, "This species is native to the Chicago Region according to Swink and Wilhelm's Plants of the Chicago Region, with updates made according to current research."Â. Natural Areas Conservation Training Program, Black walnut toxicity (plants tolerant of), Preventing construction damage to trees and shrubs, Trees and shrubs for the four seasons landscape, Sudden Oak Death, Ramorum Blight and Phytophthora ramorum, Eastern United States Wetlands Collection. SMOOTH SUMAC BERRIES (Rhus glabra) on the Continental Divide - SOUTHERN COLORADO ID: ECPM7P (RM) Smooth Sumac seed pod (Rhus glabra) - Hall County, Georgia. It is useful for controlling erosion and is sometimes used as a roadside planting for this purpose. Twigs are stout, angular, smooth, with a whitish coating that can be wiped off. Often found growing in dry sandy to gravelly soils. Leaves and Buds Bud Arrangement - Alternate. The red color of their leaves in fall is intensified by their clustered growth. A large, colony-forming, native shrub best used in mass plantings. sumac, smooth (Rhus glabra) 1-A The smooth sumac is not as common as the winged sumac (5-A). The Ojibwa took a decoction of fragrant sumac root to stop diarrhea. Leaves contain 20 – 35% tannin and yield a yellow dye. Female plants produce scarlet, hairy terminal fruits in summer and persistent into winter. Flowers late May–July, both male and female flowers in dense, much-branched clusters at the end of new growth, on separate plants; clusters 5–9 inches long; flowers numerous, petals 5, white. Shedding of leaves is variously influenced by day length. Explore this online platform for Chicago-area residents to share their favorite stories about trees. Three species of sumac are widespread in the South. Smooth sumac is a thicket-forming shrub or small tree with a spreading crown. Pinnate and compound, Smooth Sumac leaves are large, fern-like constructions with smooth green or purple stems supporting pairs of shiny, dark green, lance-shaped leaflets and a single terminal leaflet. • Tea made from either the root or leaves was used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, and mouth/throat ulcers. Large terminal clusters of greenish-yellow flowers in June and July. Zones 4-9. The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound (3-5 dm long). The leaflets, which are arranged along the stem in pairs (figure 5), are oblong with sharply pointed tips and smooth or somewhat wavy edges. Smooth Sumac is a native deciduous shrub appearing in every state and parts of Canada growing 9-15 feet tall and wide. The following menu has 3 levels. Smooth sumac fruits persist long into winter, when wild turkeys, mourning doves, and many other bird species rely on them for a food source. A trilobata leaf develops as three completely separated lobes, while a glabra leaf is compound, one to two feet long, with 11 to 31 pointed leaflets per leaf—these remind me of the leaves of ferns. The fruit is persistent on the shrub into winter. The twigs are hairless and emit a milky sap when broken. Among other sumac species (Rhus spp.) The dark green summer foliage turns an excellent yellow to orange-red-purple combinations in fall. Smooth sumac forms thickets from root suckers. The word sumac is derived from the Arabic summãq, meaning red.And sumac is the common name for shrubs belonging to the Rhus genus; they bear fruit in clusters of orange to russet, and their leaves turn vividly scarlet in fall. in Illinois, Smooth Sumac can be distinguished by the absence of hairs on its stems and leaf rachises, the absence of winged leaf rachises, and the number of leaflets on its compound leaves. This shrub or small tree has pinnately compound leaves with 11 to 31 leaflets that are attached to a smooth, wingless stalk. Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) is a native, deciduous shrub. Fall Color is a stunning yellow to orange-red-purple combinations. Herb: Smooth Sumach Latin name: Rhus glabra Family: Anacardiaceae (Cashew Family, Sumac Family) Medicinal use of Smooth Sumach: Smooth sumach was employed medicinally by various native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a variety of complaints. It grows into a large shrub or small tree about 8 to 10 feet tall. Large ferny-like foliage gives plant a tropical appearance. You can get a rash from allowing your skin to brush up against poison sumac, even in winter. Staghorn sumac has alternate, compound leaves, 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24") long. Poison sumac grows to be 6 to 20 feet high. A variety known as Staghorn Sumac has smooth branches likened to the velvet on a deer’s antlers – thus the name Staghorn. It likes the same poor dry soil as the staghorn sumac, and the leaves are similar, with up to 31 leaflets. A good choice for difficult sites, mass plantings, screening and highways plantings. There are other varieties, which I … Bark is grayish-brown, roughened with raised pores; smooth on young plants; older trunks with shallow grooves. Like most other sumacs, it has excellent fall color and spreads by underground rhizomes, but it is less aggressive than smooth sumac. The leaves of the three species differ slightly as well. Use up and down arrow keys to explore within a submenu. Its strong architectural form and elegant silhouette are revealed in winter, after the leaves are gone. Usually grows in masses and suckers profusely. Leaflets are oblong with toothed margins. In comparison, the leaves of black locust, sycamore maple, European white birch, red gum, and white oak were retained under short days if the temperature did not drop (Kramer, 1936; Wareing, 1954). Our communities. Leaves turn red in fall. It decorates our roadsides. Have tree and plant questions? The red berries are beloved by wild-edibles enthusiasts, who use them to make a kind of "pink lemonade" and jellies. The Smooth Sumac and Shining Sumac are smooth both on the twigs and the fruits. Bud Size - Small, round-ovoid with leaf scar almost Flower heads can be up to 10 inches tall. The smooth, or scarlet, sumac (Rhus glabra), native to the eastern and central United States, is a common species. Commonly found growing along roadways, fencerows, prairies and fields throughout North America and Canada. Female plants develop upright, scarlet-red, hairy fruits (drupe) which persistent into winter. Is a native plant found throughout the eastern United States, screening highways... In early autumn, Rhus glabra ) is an important winter survival food to. Finely ground leaves and stems provide the dyeing and tanning agent sumac this... 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Fencerows, prairies and fields throughout North America and Canada by visiting our BRAHMS website and. Were used in mass plantings, screening and highways plantings, prairies and fields throughout North America, although is... Clusters of dark red fruits with velvety hairs tree growing up to 31 leaflets are. Energetic colonizer of disturbed landscapes, as along highways, stabilizing raw soil pores ; smooth on young ;... Aboveground stems are stout, smooth, with multiple stems to oblong-lanceolate ( 7-9 cm ).