SC - I'm Back!
Brian Matthews
Thain at bigfoot.com
Sat Apr 8 23:27:33 PDT 2000
In a message dated 4/8/00 7:05:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Seton1355 at aol.com
writes:
<< BTW,
what is the difference between sumac and poison sumac?
(serious question)
Phillipa >>
Poison sumac has smooth leaves, smooth bark, grows more shrubby and has
fruits that hang in panicles and are whitish green in color. It prefers a wet
or swampy location and usually does not form large masses of clumps. Poison
sumac is rarely encountered. For pictures of this plant in different seasons
and more information go to> http://res.agr.ca/brd/poisivy/poisume.html
Regular sumac has new growth of hairy bark, hairy leaves, grows more upright
with a longer trunk and a bushy top. The fruits are fuzzy and red growing in
an upright tight pointed cone shaped mass. It is also sweetly aromatic. It
grows in abandoned fields or open spaces that are well drained. In suburban
settings it usually grows in waste areas that are on the dry side. It has a
clumping habit of growth. The American species that most closely resembles
the Persian species is known as Staghorn Sumac and is the most often seen
form in the Northeastern section of the USA. For information about the
Staghorn sumac see>
http://www3.pei.sympatico.ca/garyschneider/shrub/ssumac.html
There is another tree which looks very similar to edible sumac but the
fruiting body is yellow. It grows into a large tree and has a very strong
objectionable aroma. It seldom grows in clumps. It grows most anywhere but is
usually found in urban environments along hedge lines or in cultivated areas
of ground.
Hope this helps.
Yours in Service to the Dream,
Ras
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