Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Sumac family (Anacardiaceae)

Fragrant Sumac is one of the showiest of fall bushes in the region with showy colors both in the fall and early spring. A myriad of tiny yellow early spring flowers are followed by handsome, light green slightly leaves, then tight clusters of hairy with a pleasant tart lemonade taste. The make a refreshing drink for the trail when added to a water bottle. Rubbing the leaves or stems of Fragrant Sumac produces an aromatic pungency. "Rhus" is the classical Greek name for a member of this .


©2004 Anthony Valois and the National Park Service

Description

shrub, 6-10' tall, with a with a dense, thicket forming, twisting, and sprawling form. , glossy, , divided into 3 . Flowers pale yellow to green clusters, -like, rising from axils. Flowers appear before or with leaf emergence. are red, in tight clusters. Leaves aromatic when crushed, turning yellow, orange, red, purple in the fall.

Field Marks

Bushy shrub with leaves, fragrant when crushed, and red clusters.

© Al Schneider

A catkin is a tight cylindrical flower cluster where flowers connect directly to a stem. The flowers generally don't have petals and the stem is often drooping.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

trifoliate -- Divided into three leaflets. Like a clover leaf.

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.

pubescent -- downy; covered with short, soft, erect hairs.

serrate -- toothed with asymmetrical teeth pointing forward; like the cutting edge of a saw.

Deciduous plants are those that lose all of their leaves for part of the year.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

The botanical term "berry" is different from common usage. Strawberries and raspberries are not berries. But a tomatoe is. A true berry is a fruit with the seeds immersed in the pulp.

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

lobe -- Being divided by clefts.