The new growth has the purplish color. A modern study confirms Smooth Sumac as a mouth medicine, due to examined and tested samples of the species from the Ozark mountains, which was shown to prevent tooth decay among rural Ozark inhabitants. In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found east of The Dalles, OR between the elevations of 100'-4000'. In North America, the smooth sumac and the staghorn sumac are sometimes used to make a beverage termed "sumac-ade", "Indian lemonade", or "rhus juice". Winged sumac—which is also known by a variety of other common names, including dwarf sumac, flameleaf sumac, and shining sumac—is a multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub or small tree that thrives in dry soils in open areas where it often forms large colonies. Smooth sumac plants flower yellow in the early summer months, and the hair red fruits, each containing a single seed, mature and ripen by early fall. It is one of the primary native woody nuisances that moves into prairies in Missouri, where its … Second, I live in Alabama, and we have it here. Photo Credit Shutterstock. Interspersed throughout the bush are cones of petite red berries that add a wonderful splash of color . Dark, narrow leaves with a pointed tip and light underside characterize this perennial plant. Its foliage of shiny, deeply dissected, fern-like, deep green leaves, 18 in. The leaves of poison sumac differ in being hairless and shiny with smooth margins. Rhus glabra (Smooth Sumac) Anacardiaceae (Sumac Family) Foothills. Staghorn sumac occupies a smaller range, from Minnesota east to Maine, south to South Carolina and Tennessee. Learn more about Smooth Sumac. A cultivated variety has much-dissected fernlike leaves. Woodland edges, openings. 2010-08-13 10:40:38 First off, thanks for the info. Reply to this comment . Winged sumac is a slender-branched shrub to small tree with a rounded top; it forms thickets from root sprouting. Its strong architectural form and elegant silhouette are revealed in winter, after the leaves are gone. Smooth sumac occurs from Saskatchewan to Maine, south to Florida and west to Texas. Range & Habitat: The native Winged Sumac is common in southern Illinois, occasional in NE Illinois, and rare or absent elsewhere (see Distribution Map). It is an attractive ornamental plant and is cultivated by many for its beauty. Distribution. In Ohio, we have both. 2015. Range: Smooth sumac may be found across much of North America. Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) is a deciduous shrub which occurs on prairies, fields, abandoned farmland, clearings and along roads and railroads. Leaves / Fruit: Fruit: Fruit: Fruit / Leaves: Fruit / Leaves: Fall Color Leaves: Fall Color Leaves ... Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015. Rhus glabra is found in the Four Corners area of Colorado, Arizona, and Utah but not in New Mexico. Brown. It is a thicket-forming shrub or small tree with a spreading crown. Comment by Natureisbest. Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) early in the season. The range of Rhus glabra (Smooth Sumac) Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). For areas up north you’ll want to look for smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) — its range is far more widespread and it has the same properties and uses as staghorn. long (45 cm), warms up to brilliant shades of red and orange in fall. Smooth sumac (R. glabra) is scattered statewide. Rhus glabra Linnaeus Smooth Sumac. Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra): Named because its first-year stems are smooth, rather than hairy. In its name, typhina means “like Typha ,” cattails, referring to the fine fuzz on its leaves and twigs. It grows to a height of 6 metres (20 feet), with an open, flattened crown and a few stout spreading branches. Poison sumac also differs in that it rarely grows in dense, pure stands, and it inhabits swamps. Smooth sumac had the greatest foliar percentage in September followed by sericea lespedeza and smooth sumac (P < 0.05). Smooth sumac, also known as common sumac, Rocky Mountain sumac, red sumac, scarlet sumac, lemonade sumac, western sumac, and white sumac, is a deciduous shrub or a small tree from 0.5 to 6 m in height and 1 to 18 cm in stem diameter. Rhus glabra, the smooth sumac, (also known as white sumac, upland sumac, or scarlet sumac) is a species of sumac in the family Anacardiaceae, native to North America, from southern Quebec west to southern British Columbia in Canada, and south to northern Florida and Arizona in the United States and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, very similar to smooth sumac, is native to the eastern US. Smooth sumac is well known for its brilliant red fall foliage and its deep red berries. It is a thicket-forming shrub or small tree with a spreading crown. A thicket of smooth sumac retained some of its berries in January, though most of them were gone. The leaves are alternately pinnately compound and can … It may be found from British Columbia south through the Pacific Northwest to eastern Nevada to northern Mexico, and east to Georgia, New England and north into southern Quebec. Smooth sumac on average grows about eight feet tall. The branches on Smooth Sumac are smooth, while the branches on Staghorn Sumac are furry like the antlers on a stag when "in velvet." Ranges throughout the U.S. except for an area in North Dakota and Montana. Staghorn Sumac is a member of the Anacardiaceae, the Sumac or Cashew family. Smooth Sumac is a dioecious species (male & female flowers are produced on separate plants). ” If you do manage to somehow mistake poison sumac for sumac, you’ll be sorry though. Smooth Sumac is a little smaller as well, and its range extends further south. It causes skin reactions much worse than poison ivy and poison oak. USDA-NRCS Plants Database / Britton, N.L., and A. It is common in ecotonal areas and is often found along … Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) range. Description: Smooth sumac, or Rhus Glabra L., ranges from the size of a shrub to that of a small tree. It is a loose and open plant and grows in umbrella shaped clusters. Summer. A large, open, irregular, spreading shrub which typically grows 8-15 feet tall and spreads by root suckers to … Lower Dolores River Canyon, October 16, 2007. Smooth Sumac is a deciduous shrub that has short, crooked, trunks with charming, dark green leaves laid out in a symmetrical pattern along the branches. Flamboyant in autumn, Rhus glabra (Smooth Sumac) is an open, spreading, deciduous shrub with nice ornamental features. As this is a fairly common plant in the landscape, fruiting is not usually an issue. Staghorn Sumac has leaves that have a hairy leaf stem and rachis, the stem that the leaflets are attached to. The leaves of the three species differ slightly as well. Rhus Glabra L. is one of the most common sumacs. It often forms dense thickets in prairies [ 89 ]. 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. It is similar to smooth sumac, except the leaves are untoothed. The old herbals don’t just stop there. Distribution map courtesy of the USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, originally from "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr. . Smooth sumac fruits are palatable to many species of birds and small mammals. Smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, is the only shrub or tree that is native to all of the 48 contiguous states. 1913. 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. That fuzz is the source of the name staghorn; the stems resemble velvet-covered new antlers. Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) Photo Courtesy Ohio State Weed Lab Archive – Ohio State University. In general, however, smooth sumac is relatively unpalatable to most big game and domestic livestock. The smooth, or scarlet, sumac (Rhus glabra), native to the eastern and central United States, is a common species. Three to Five shrubs are needed for a reliable bounty of fruit (red drupes), found on the female plant. Smooth sumac is known to shade and replace prairie plants and endangered species. It also spreads by ground suckers to form a colony. Smooth Sumac has none of … Wild turkey, gray partridge, and mourning dove also feed on the fruits . Smooth Sumac Rhus glabra L. Figure 98.—Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) Other common names.—Mountain sumac, upland sumac, scarlet sumac, sleek sumac, white sumac, Pennsylvania sumac, shoemake, vinegar tree. This sumac is less aggressive than Rhus glabra (Smooth Sumac). Other articles where Smooth sumac is discussed: sumac: The smooth, or scarlet, sumac (Rhus glabra), native to the eastern and central United States, is a common species. Effects on Natural Communities. Smooth sumac grows in a wide range of habitats including open woodlands, prairies, dry rocky hillsides, canyons, and protected ravines [36,40,90]. Unlike winged sumac, it lacks flattened leafy “wings” along the central stems of the compound leaves. The scientific name Rhus Glabra comes from Greek and rhus is derived from "rhous" which means bushy sumac, glabra means smooth and refers to the stem and leaves of the plant (Kindscher, 1987).. Botany and Ecology. Both Bryce, who is a taxidermist, and I have observed rubs on the trees as the bark is apparently quite aromatic to bucks. Discussion The southeastern U.S. often has hot, dry conditions during July and August (NOAA 2010 ) that cause predominant forage species (tall fescue and bermudagrass) to be semi-dormant (Burner et al. smooth sumac Anacardiaceae Rhus glabra L. symbol: RHGL Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound, 12 to 18 inches long, 11 to 31 lanceolate leaflets per leaf, each 2 to 4 inches long with a serrated margin, dark green above, paler and finely hairy below. David: Smooth sumac was indeed smoked by the indigenous Americans for 'purposes', sometimes combined with nicotine containing leaves, bark, roots, or … It is not a common plant but it certainly is easy to spot in the fall with its brilliant red leaves and tightly packed pyramid of red fruits. Smooth Sumac is very similar to the Staghorn Sumac, except it is a smaller plant, usually 10 to 15 feet high, that is normally a large shrub and it does not have hairy twigs or fruit clusters. It grows to a height of 6 metres (20 feet), with an open, flattened crown and a few stout spreading branches. Smooth sumac is moderately palatable to wintering mule deer [66,78]. I’ll be sure to try this out. Kingdom: Plantae Species in this family range from medium-sized trees to herbs a few inches high. It usually has a single gray-brown stem but often occurs in clonal thickets formed by suckers from horizontal roots. Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), and winged sumac (Rhus coppalinum) ripen in sequence from midsummer through early fall and are ready to collect when they are red to brown in color (depending on species) and very acidic on the tongue. The Smooth Sumac and Shining Sumac are smooth both on the twigs and the fruits. A cultivated variety has much-dissected fernlike… There are also mountain populations from British Colombia to New Mexico. Flower: Species is dioecious; small, with pale yellow petals, borne in a dense upright cluster up to 8 inches long, appearing in mid to late …