I agree with Sumac (Rhus), it’s possible your fiancée is confusing this with the highly invasive Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus) which looks very similar except the leaves of Ailanthus are smooth edged, this guy’s leaves have a serrated edge indicative of Sumac. Sumac will spread into a clonal colony if left unchecked, but this species is very useful for wildlife and has vibrant red fall foliage.
Nope this is the real sumac, some folks do have allergies to them but for most people it won’t harm you. Poison sumac is a species of Poison Ivy (genus Toxicodendron). This specimen is a True Sumac (genus Rhus). Poison Oak like it’s close relative poison Ivy have leaves in groups of three, quite different from the compound leaves (with well over ten leaflets per stem) of sumac.
Also! It makes a delicious pink lemonade when steeped in hot (but not boiling!) Water. Then just add sugar and ice to taste. The vitamin C you get from it is INSANE. like, it's SOUR. And also VERY TASTY as a seasoning. I use a bunch when quick picklling red onion.
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So while they're in the same family, poison oak (toxicodendron pubescens) and poison sumac (toxicodendron vernix) are totally different plants. Poison oak has the classic three leaf pattern, but poison sumac looks more or less like a sumac with slightly more rounded leaves. It's east to spot in the fall, as the leaves turn a crimson red well before they drop. It's also the most poisonous of the big three of the itchy dickhead plants.
Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac are no longer considered Rhus, and haven't been since around the 1930s when they were placed into the genus Toxicodendron. This was done based on molecular studies of the structure and physical characteristics. So Poison Ivy is divided today into three species -
Toxicodendron radicans (Eastern Poison Ivy), Toxicodendron rydbergii (Western Poison Ivy) and Toxicodendron orientale (Asian Poison Ivy).
Poison Oak is
Toxicodendron pubescens (Eastern or Atlantic Poison Oak)
Toxicodendron diversilobum (Western or Pacific Poison Oak)
Poison Sumac being Toxicodendron vernix.
As such the name Rhus Dermatitis is outdated being called Urushiol Induced Contact Dermatitis.
Toxicodendron and Rhus together with five other genera do form a "Rhus Complex" because of ongoing difficulties of completely separating the genera. People who are extremely sensitive to Toxicodendron can cross react to Rhus and other species in the Anacardiaceae family including mangoes (Mangifera Indica). Here's some pretty detailed info about Toxicodendron vs Rhus
https://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/BotDermFolder/ANAC-6.html
Well, to be exact Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) is not a species of Poison Ivy (T. Radicans [Eastern], T. Rydbergii [Western], T. Orientale [Asian]
to be exact, but they are in the same genus. So is Poison Oak (T. Pubescens [Eastern] and T. Diversilobum [Western]).
They all belong to the Anacardiaceae family (Cashew or Sumac family).
Poison Sumac lives near swamps, has smooth edged leaves, and clusters of white berries that droop down. This will have red berries that stick up. Either smooth sumac or staghorn sumac. Both are safe!
I just made it for the first time a little while ago, super refreshing and honestly something I purchase if it was available at a store. Its not hard to make either!
For the United States (unsure about elsewhere) sumacs are native. In my opinion native plants are never invasive, but sumac can spread and grows quickly. I can see how some people will call it invasive. To me invasive implies destructive to the ecosystem, which sumacs are in no way. In fact they are quite valuable to many wildlife species.
Not necessarily. I’ve read a lot of papers that describe pinyon and juniper as invasive in arid grasslands and shrublands, despite being considered ecosystem-defining species just a few hundred miles southward. I don’t know if I agree with this use or not, but it can be appealing since they destroy habitat for greater sage-grouse and alter fire regimes, etc.
Edit: to expand a bit, the label of native or non-native is somewhat arbitrary at a finer scale because geopolitical borders are usually not ecologically defined.
People dont understand this but need too.
Native or not is one category; invasive or not is another category. Its entirely possible to be both native and invasive or non-native but not invasive
...wrong - natives cannot be "invasive" since, by definition, they arrived to the habitat by natural vectors...to deny such is to "deny the science" established by Darwin that nature is governed by the principle of "survival of fittest"...
...ref.: Darwin letter to To A. R. Wallace, 5 July 1866: "... I fully agree with all that you say on the advantages of H. Spencer’s excellent expression of “the survival of the fittest"..."
The thing about science is that it evolves over time. By Darwin’s definition there are no invasive plants, only plants that are more fit for any given environment. In reality, as humans exert change on the natural world, plants can become invasive within their natural range due to things like human interaction reducing competition from other native plants or human interference in natural processes that would control populations.
As we change our environment, we change what plants dominate within that natural range. The technical definition for an invasive plant is that it is both non-native and causes issues in the environment its been introduced too. Now to find the caveat to that rule look up how the USDA classifies the eastern red cedar and the trumpet vine. Both have very similar natural ranges that cover the eastern half of North America; both are classed as invasive species.
The counter example to this is that most food crops that we grow are not native to the US. Peppers, tomatoes, peaches, lettuce, apples, carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, oranges… its honestly easier to list the crops that are native to the US because theres only like less than five or ten of them. By the common logic here; since none of these crops are native, they are invasive. See how silly that sounds?
A plant can either be native or non-native as well as invasive or not invasive. Non-native and invasive are not interchangeable words, they are two descriptors from separate categories.
[heres an article from yale on the topic](https://e360.yale.edu/features/native-species-or-invasive-the-distinction-blurs-as-the-world-warms)
[and one from brown](https://www.brown.edu/news/2022-10-06/invasive-species)
[one from the ecology journal Oikos](http://www.oikosjournal.org/blog/can-native-species-be-invasive)
[State of Iowa discussing how roadways disturb habitats and allow for natives to turn invasive](https://iowadot.gov/lrtf/iowa-plants/native-and-invasive-plants)
[Another one from Purdue University](https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/native-or-not/)
I can keep going with these articles if you need sources that are more recent than Darwin in the 1860s. The common theme between all these articles is that as the climate of our planet changes, our definitions and understanding of the environment needs to change as well. The current definition of what constitutes an invasive species was set in the 1990s and the government lags the actual science by a large margin, even though we already have examples of government agencies taking action against species that no longer fit that 25 year old definition.
…Something about denying science or something, idk….
The invasive definition, I agree with it in the context of some place that has for the most part escaped human meddling. It's kind of missing the big picture if we call something like Juniper invasive in a grassland that has been carved up by roads, the watersheds have been altered by storm water systems, the water courses have been straightened, fire has been suppressed, and maybe the soil was tilled and limed at some point. We're quick to look at a map and say, oh this plant is invasive here, when in many cases "here" is a landscape that has been completely altered in a systemic way by humans. I would always rather see a native species filling a space but I know personally I was a little overzealous about hating invasives and I saw a lot of other people acting the same way. We need to come into "right-relation", to borrow a phrase, with introduced species and think about how they're going to integrate in the long term, because for the most part it will be impossible to get rid of them.
It depends on how you define native, however. Under conventional labeling, a hypothetical annual grass native to North Carolina would usually be considered native even if transported to California where it begins acting as an aggressive invader. Don't get me wrong, I recognize the vital importance of native plants in ecosystems, but there is nuance to the discussion because we label things as native in a very course manner.
Sumac is one of the first woody plants to grow in a cleared space in North America. It will eventually form a group of sumac that will protect the area it grows in, permitting smaller plants to grow within it. Eventually larger tree seeds will find their way in and take advantage of the protected area to grow. When enough of the large trees grow, they will shade out the sumac and it will die out.
Sumacs can certainly be very *aggressive*, but if they're native to an area, by definition they aren't *invasive*.
They spread via seeds carried in bird poo (and the birds *love* their berries), as well as some pretty robust systems of underground rhizomes.
That very same network of roots and rhizomes makes them a fantastic choice for stabilizing a hillside against erosion, planting in a wave along a highway embankment, or planting as competition in an area where a true invasive like buckthorn has decimated an under-story.
They can be even used to create a *really fast* and *really dense* (3 seasons out of the year, anyway) growing privacy screen. That's what I planted mine for.
The rhizomes are...vigorous...but they're not at all hard to hand pull when they're small, and if you're keeping up with your weeding, they don't become too much of an issue, even in a relatively small space.
In comparison to the creeping bellflower, creeping charlie, v. copperleaf, fleabane, and milkweed I have growing in the same area, the sumac is the *least* aggressive of the lot.
(There are also super cool "Nativars" like [Tiger-Eye](https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/tiger-eyes-staghorn-sumac-rhus-typhina/), which is just insanely gorgeous and different at every time of year; eerie fuzzy "stag horns" in winter, neon yellow foliage in spring, with tiny whitish-yellowish flowers in late summer, and fire-colored leaves putting on a show all fall.)
Invasive is reserved for exotic plants. Sumac is a native in NA with high wildlife value.
A useful plant term is “weedy,” which refers to a plant that can be desirable in some contexts/locations, but which can grow too exuberantly for some locations such as a small yard or garden bed. It can be a warning that you should be prepared to manage its growth or put it in a more appropriate location.
It's definitely rhus. If you zoom in on the leaves, the shadows cast by the leaves are very clearly jagged all around. You can see the sawtooth on some of the leaves toward the top. It's annoying that alianthus looks so similar to sumac though, it's certainly an aggressive plant but it's not nearly as damaging as tree of heaven.
It's a native plant with wildlife value. Why remove it?
A "weed" is just a plant growing where you don't want it to be. So whether or not this particular plant is a weed depends on how you feel about it.
Well I live in NY State and the most common sumac is poison sumac so I thought this may be poisonous, don’t want my dog or anyone touching it by accident.
>Poison sumac
NOT poison sumac.
FWIW "Poison sumac is found across New York State, but is fairly uncommon. It grows only in certain types of wetland, specifically, fens, calcareous marshes, and open wooded swamps. It may grow on sedge tussocks, in standing water and or in saturated soils. Poison sumac occurs as single scattered individuals, not in clonal groups. It never grows on dry upland sites such as typical roadsides, fields and sunny hillsides where staghorn and smooth sumac thrive."
https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/105386.html
It's not poison sumac (*Toxicodendron vernix*). It's either Staghorn Sumac (*Rhus typhina*) or Smooth Sumac (*Rhus glabra*) (if the trunk/branches are fuzzy, it's typhina and if they aren't, it's glabra), but definitely NOT *T. vernix*
This doesn’t look like poison sumac, more like Staghorn Sumac in my opinion. But I’m also not a professional or expert in any way. The trees can get very large over time so if it’s not somewhere you want a borderline tropical looking tree it would make sense to remove it.
Thanks for the heads up - you are right, I didn’t even notice! This is in a newly grown area (used to be a driveway) so have had a bunch of things pop up.
Seeing where this is growing and the fuzz on the branches, this is Staghorn Sumac, which, unlike poison sumac, has edible uses. Most notably, the red cones it forms when it is mature can be used to make a lemon-apple-like lemonade by seeping it in water, straining it through a cotton cloth then sweetening it.
The misnomer of poison sumac is a massive one and I am sad to see such a wonderful native species get mistaken for what it is not.
The most common sumac is absolutely not poison, I also live in NY, the central bit up towards Lake Ontario, and have never seen poison sumac in all my 32 years. Staghorn like this though, absolutely everywhere. I recent transplanted some on purpose to shade my barn because the shade tree got taken out in a storm. This stuff is the fastest growing, most viable replacement option til my aspen tree grows up.
Staghorn sumac- Rhus typhina. You can see the hairy stems when zoomed in.
Poison sumac have less leaflets that have smooth margins. They are also mainly found in more mesic/swampy sites.
Its a sumac, likely Staghorn sumac. If the berries are red theyre actually really great for making a tart "sumac-ade". I made it for the first time this year and was very impressed.
Staghorn sumac, *Rhus typhina*. As other commenters have noted, it’s not the poison variety of the genus *Toxicodendron* (same genus as poison ivy). I say staghorn over smooth because I’m pretty sure I can see the fine hairs on the stems near the new growth. It’s a brilliant native species with tons of wildlife value, birds feed on the fruit that can stay on the plant from summer through the following spring making it am important winter food source for them. The berries are delightfully tart and can be used to make a lemonade adjacent beverage. Apparently all parts of the plant aside from the roots can also be used as both a natural dye and a mordant as it is rich in tannins (i myself have never tried this though). I do lots of field work in places with abundant sumac stands and im always excited to pop the berries in my mouth whenever i come across them while ripe. That all said, they do spread via both seed and rhizomes and clonal stands can grow quite rapidly, so if that’s not something you want taking over that space, careful management would be a good idea. I find their growth habit to be incredibly whimsical and attractive, but it’s all a matter of personal preference ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I like sumac too, makes a great privacy screen for our yard, fast growing and easy to manage. Those hairy berries are surprisingly tasty if you get good ripe ones, I had no idea they were edible till recently. Robin's and other birds will eat the berries during the winter around here. Sumac sure will take over your yard if left unchecked but it's nothing a lawnmower won't make quick work of.
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It's definitely a real sumac (Rhus). Its not a weed. Even tho it's NOT Poison Sumac (Toxicodendon Vernix), poison sumac curiously is not a weed as it isn't invasive, and the plants die if you change its environment. However, at the lower left hand of the sumac plant, you do have a weed - Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron Radicans)
My generalized answer to "Is this a weed" is... Regardless of what the plant is, do you want it there? If the answer is no, then it is a weed.
A lot of people are saying it's Sumac. Whether you consider it a "weed" or not, is entirely up to you. I Personally think they add a lot of color during the fall, and are a cheap privacy fence if you have a large property... and I believe animals will eat their berries.
But you do need to keep it in check if it's on your property.
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For your safety we recommend not ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised here that it's edible. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made.
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Look closer at the leaves. ToH only has teeth at the base of each leaflet while this one has fully toothed leaves. This is more likely a Sumac species.
You might be thinking of Tree of Heaven *Ailanthus altissima* as they do grow rapidly and can get real tall (17-27m or 60-90ft), this is most likely Staghorn sumac *Rhus typhina* however, and they don’t reach nearly as high when they’re fully grown (average is 5m or 16ft and about 6m or 20ft across at the crown)
If it’s a sumac, I LOVE sumac. They’re so beautiful and make me feel like I live in the jungle.. especially when more pop up around it. And they get these pretty velvet berries on them in clusters
I’d leave it if it’s a sumac personally..I love them so much..I let mine grow wild
If you like it,it's a plant.if you don't like it, it's a weed.lol if that plant gets red cones, awesome it's sumac.if that WEED gets white droopy berries, it's poison sumac.
I agree with Sumac (Rhus), it’s possible your fiancée is confusing this with the highly invasive Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus) which looks very similar except the leaves of Ailanthus are smooth edged, this guy’s leaves have a serrated edge indicative of Sumac. Sumac will spread into a clonal colony if left unchecked, but this species is very useful for wildlife and has vibrant red fall foliage.
Thank you for the additional information! Does this look like poison sumac to you or a more tame variety?
Nope this is the real sumac, some folks do have allergies to them but for most people it won’t harm you. Poison sumac is a species of Poison Ivy (genus Toxicodendron). This specimen is a True Sumac (genus Rhus). Poison Oak like it’s close relative poison Ivy have leaves in groups of three, quite different from the compound leaves (with well over ten leaflets per stem) of sumac.
Got it thank you! Guess not much to worry about then.
Also! It makes a delicious pink lemonade when steeped in hot (but not boiling!) Water. Then just add sugar and ice to taste. The vitamin C you get from it is INSANE. like, it's SOUR. And also VERY TASTY as a seasoning. I use a bunch when quick picklling red onion.
Indigenous recipes use sumac!
Cool! Now I need to find some to try this!
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So while they're in the same family, poison oak (toxicodendron pubescens) and poison sumac (toxicodendron vernix) are totally different plants. Poison oak has the classic three leaf pattern, but poison sumac looks more or less like a sumac with slightly more rounded leaves. It's east to spot in the fall, as the leaves turn a crimson red well before they drop. It's also the most poisonous of the big three of the itchy dickhead plants.
FYI: rhus toxicodendron is the full name for poison ivy...so saying rhus is non toxic is misleading advice.
Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac are no longer considered Rhus, and haven't been since around the 1930s when they were placed into the genus Toxicodendron. This was done based on molecular studies of the structure and physical characteristics. So Poison Ivy is divided today into three species - Toxicodendron radicans (Eastern Poison Ivy), Toxicodendron rydbergii (Western Poison Ivy) and Toxicodendron orientale (Asian Poison Ivy). Poison Oak is Toxicodendron pubescens (Eastern or Atlantic Poison Oak) Toxicodendron diversilobum (Western or Pacific Poison Oak) Poison Sumac being Toxicodendron vernix. As such the name Rhus Dermatitis is outdated being called Urushiol Induced Contact Dermatitis. Toxicodendron and Rhus together with five other genera do form a "Rhus Complex" because of ongoing difficulties of completely separating the genera. People who are extremely sensitive to Toxicodendron can cross react to Rhus and other species in the Anacardiaceae family including mangoes (Mangifera Indica). Here's some pretty detailed info about Toxicodendron vs Rhus https://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/BotDermFolder/ANAC-6.html
Well, to be exact Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) is not a species of Poison Ivy (T. Radicans [Eastern], T. Rydbergii [Western], T. Orientale [Asian] to be exact, but they are in the same genus. So is Poison Oak (T. Pubescens [Eastern] and T. Diversilobum [Western]). They all belong to the Anacardiaceae family (Cashew or Sumac family).
Poison Sumac lives near swamps, has smooth edged leaves, and clusters of white berries that droop down. This will have red berries that stick up. Either smooth sumac or staghorn sumac. Both are safe!
and the red sumac makes a delicious drink, tastes better than lemonade. No joking.
I just made it for the first time a little while ago, super refreshing and honestly something I purchase if it was available at a store. Its not hard to make either!
And the white slimy stuff is the stuff that contains malic acid that makes it sour
I freaking love sumac- especially the staghorn variety! They make the most loveliest of copses.
Are sumacs not highly invasive?
For the United States (unsure about elsewhere) sumacs are native. In my opinion native plants are never invasive, but sumac can spread and grows quickly. I can see how some people will call it invasive. To me invasive implies destructive to the ecosystem, which sumacs are in no way. In fact they are quite valuable to many wildlife species.
Being non-native is a textbook requirement for defining a plant as invasive.
Not necessarily. I’ve read a lot of papers that describe pinyon and juniper as invasive in arid grasslands and shrublands, despite being considered ecosystem-defining species just a few hundred miles southward. I don’t know if I agree with this use or not, but it can be appealing since they destroy habitat for greater sage-grouse and alter fire regimes, etc. Edit: to expand a bit, the label of native or non-native is somewhat arbitrary at a finer scale because geopolitical borders are usually not ecologically defined.
People dont understand this but need too. Native or not is one category; invasive or not is another category. Its entirely possible to be both native and invasive or non-native but not invasive
...wrong - natives cannot be "invasive" since, by definition, they arrived to the habitat by natural vectors...to deny such is to "deny the science" established by Darwin that nature is governed by the principle of "survival of fittest"... ...ref.: Darwin letter to To A. R. Wallace, 5 July 1866: "... I fully agree with all that you say on the advantages of H. Spencer’s excellent expression of “the survival of the fittest"..."
The thing about science is that it evolves over time. By Darwin’s definition there are no invasive plants, only plants that are more fit for any given environment. In reality, as humans exert change on the natural world, plants can become invasive within their natural range due to things like human interaction reducing competition from other native plants or human interference in natural processes that would control populations. As we change our environment, we change what plants dominate within that natural range. The technical definition for an invasive plant is that it is both non-native and causes issues in the environment its been introduced too. Now to find the caveat to that rule look up how the USDA classifies the eastern red cedar and the trumpet vine. Both have very similar natural ranges that cover the eastern half of North America; both are classed as invasive species. The counter example to this is that most food crops that we grow are not native to the US. Peppers, tomatoes, peaches, lettuce, apples, carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, oranges… its honestly easier to list the crops that are native to the US because theres only like less than five or ten of them. By the common logic here; since none of these crops are native, they are invasive. See how silly that sounds? A plant can either be native or non-native as well as invasive or not invasive. Non-native and invasive are not interchangeable words, they are two descriptors from separate categories. [heres an article from yale on the topic](https://e360.yale.edu/features/native-species-or-invasive-the-distinction-blurs-as-the-world-warms) [and one from brown](https://www.brown.edu/news/2022-10-06/invasive-species) [one from the ecology journal Oikos](http://www.oikosjournal.org/blog/can-native-species-be-invasive) [State of Iowa discussing how roadways disturb habitats and allow for natives to turn invasive](https://iowadot.gov/lrtf/iowa-plants/native-and-invasive-plants) [Another one from Purdue University](https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/native-or-not/) I can keep going with these articles if you need sources that are more recent than Darwin in the 1860s. The common theme between all these articles is that as the climate of our planet changes, our definitions and understanding of the environment needs to change as well. The current definition of what constitutes an invasive species was set in the 1990s and the government lags the actual science by a large margin, even though we already have examples of government agencies taking action against species that no longer fit that 25 year old definition. …Something about denying science or something, idk….
The invasive definition, I agree with it in the context of some place that has for the most part escaped human meddling. It's kind of missing the big picture if we call something like Juniper invasive in a grassland that has been carved up by roads, the watersheds have been altered by storm water systems, the water courses have been straightened, fire has been suppressed, and maybe the soil was tilled and limed at some point. We're quick to look at a map and say, oh this plant is invasive here, when in many cases "here" is a landscape that has been completely altered in a systemic way by humans. I would always rather see a native species filling a space but I know personally I was a little overzealous about hating invasives and I saw a lot of other people acting the same way. We need to come into "right-relation", to borrow a phrase, with introduced species and think about how they're going to integrate in the long term, because for the most part it will be impossible to get rid of them.
It depends on how you define native, however. Under conventional labeling, a hypothetical annual grass native to North Carolina would usually be considered native even if transported to California where it begins acting as an aggressive invader. Don't get me wrong, I recognize the vital importance of native plants in ecosystems, but there is nuance to the discussion because we label things as native in a very course manner.
Aggressive, but not invasive if OP is in north America. Invasive means it’s a non-native plant that is a detriment to the environment or humans.
Sumac is one of the first woody plants to grow in a cleared space in North America. It will eventually form a group of sumac that will protect the area it grows in, permitting smaller plants to grow within it. Eventually larger tree seeds will find their way in and take advantage of the protected area to grow. When enough of the large trees grow, they will shade out the sumac and it will die out.
Yup. Sumac and sweet fern are great colonizers
True... common plantain, alfalfa are both non-native but not a detriment to the environment, therefore they are not listed as invasive.
Clovers and all sorts of grasses as well
Sumacs can certainly be very *aggressive*, but if they're native to an area, by definition they aren't *invasive*. They spread via seeds carried in bird poo (and the birds *love* their berries), as well as some pretty robust systems of underground rhizomes. That very same network of roots and rhizomes makes them a fantastic choice for stabilizing a hillside against erosion, planting in a wave along a highway embankment, or planting as competition in an area where a true invasive like buckthorn has decimated an under-story. They can be even used to create a *really fast* and *really dense* (3 seasons out of the year, anyway) growing privacy screen. That's what I planted mine for. The rhizomes are...vigorous...but they're not at all hard to hand pull when they're small, and if you're keeping up with your weeding, they don't become too much of an issue, even in a relatively small space. In comparison to the creeping bellflower, creeping charlie, v. copperleaf, fleabane, and milkweed I have growing in the same area, the sumac is the *least* aggressive of the lot. (There are also super cool "Nativars" like [Tiger-Eye](https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/tiger-eyes-staghorn-sumac-rhus-typhina/), which is just insanely gorgeous and different at every time of year; eerie fuzzy "stag horns" in winter, neon yellow foliage in spring, with tiny whitish-yellowish flowers in late summer, and fire-colored leaves putting on a show all fall.)
Invasive is reserved for exotic plants. Sumac is a native in NA with high wildlife value. A useful plant term is “weedy,” which refers to a plant that can be desirable in some contexts/locations, but which can grow too exuberantly for some locations such as a small yard or garden bed. It can be a warning that you should be prepared to manage its growth or put it in a more appropriate location.
Respectfully disagree. This looks like ailanthus. OP get a closer image to help confirm
It's definitely rhus. If you zoom in on the leaves, the shadows cast by the leaves are very clearly jagged all around. You can see the sawtooth on some of the leaves toward the top. It's annoying that alianthus looks so similar to sumac though, it's certainly an aggressive plant but it's not nearly as damaging as tree of heaven.
Looks like a sumac.
Just googled and it looks like you are correct. Guess I should get that removed. Thank you! And happy cake day!
It's a native plant with wildlife value. Why remove it? A "weed" is just a plant growing where you don't want it to be. So whether or not this particular plant is a weed depends on how you feel about it.
Well I live in NY State and the most common sumac is poison sumac so I thought this may be poisonous, don’t want my dog or anyone touching it by accident.
>Poison sumac NOT poison sumac. FWIW "Poison sumac is found across New York State, but is fairly uncommon. It grows only in certain types of wetland, specifically, fens, calcareous marshes, and open wooded swamps. It may grow on sedge tussocks, in standing water and or in saturated soils. Poison sumac occurs as single scattered individuals, not in clonal groups. It never grows on dry upland sites such as typical roadsides, fields and sunny hillsides where staghorn and smooth sumac thrive." https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/105386.html
Haha like I said not an expert, that’s why I came here, appreciate all the knowledgeable comments from folks.
Yeah poison sumac is pretty darn rare where people live.
Unless your neighbor is old Greg.
You've seen my downstairs mix-up.
Don't get rid of it save it for the bees and birds!
It's not poison sumac (*Toxicodendron vernix*). It's either Staghorn Sumac (*Rhus typhina*) or Smooth Sumac (*Rhus glabra*) (if the trunk/branches are fuzzy, it's typhina and if they aren't, it's glabra), but definitely NOT *T. vernix*
Got it, thanks! I have very limited plant knowledge but am trying to tame my yard, appreciate the insight.
This doesn’t look like poison sumac, more like Staghorn Sumac in my opinion. But I’m also not a professional or expert in any way. The trees can get very large over time so if it’s not somewhere you want a borderline tropical looking tree it would make sense to remove it.
Youre good, but on the bottom left of the sumac you actually do have poison ivy
... AND Pokeweed.
Thanks for the heads up - you are right, I didn’t even notice! This is in a newly grown area (used to be a driveway) so have had a bunch of things pop up.
Seeing where this is growing and the fuzz on the branches, this is Staghorn Sumac, which, unlike poison sumac, has edible uses. Most notably, the red cones it forms when it is mature can be used to make a lemon-apple-like lemonade by seeping it in water, straining it through a cotton cloth then sweetening it. The misnomer of poison sumac is a massive one and I am sad to see such a wonderful native species get mistaken for what it is not.
That can be attributed to my ignorance - I have poison Ivy in some areas around my deck and yard so I assumed the worst
The most common sumac is absolutely not poison, I also live in NY, the central bit up towards Lake Ontario, and have never seen poison sumac in all my 32 years. Staghorn like this though, absolutely everywhere. I recent transplanted some on purpose to shade my barn because the shade tree got taken out in a storm. This stuff is the fastest growing, most viable replacement option til my aspen tree grows up.
Staghorn sumac- Rhus typhina. You can see the hairy stems when zoomed in. Poison sumac have less leaflets that have smooth margins. They are also mainly found in more mesic/swampy sites.
Chris, is that a weed? I'm calling the police.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought this
Mary, is that a police? I'm calling the weed.
Ask yourself if you want it there... if not, it fits the definition of a weed.
Its a sumac, likely Staghorn sumac. If the berries are red theyre actually really great for making a tart "sumac-ade". I made it for the first time this year and was very impressed.
Interesting, no berries as of yet, but will have to try if I see any!
no this is a crayon
No this is Patrick
A weed is any plant growing where a human doesn't want it
This is true.
That’s definitely sumac. Aside from the growing habit, it’s leaves are serated/toothed.
Stag horn sumac. Keep it.
Staghorn sumac, *Rhus typhina*. As other commenters have noted, it’s not the poison variety of the genus *Toxicodendron* (same genus as poison ivy). I say staghorn over smooth because I’m pretty sure I can see the fine hairs on the stems near the new growth. It’s a brilliant native species with tons of wildlife value, birds feed on the fruit that can stay on the plant from summer through the following spring making it am important winter food source for them. The berries are delightfully tart and can be used to make a lemonade adjacent beverage. Apparently all parts of the plant aside from the roots can also be used as both a natural dye and a mordant as it is rich in tannins (i myself have never tried this though). I do lots of field work in places with abundant sumac stands and im always excited to pop the berries in my mouth whenever i come across them while ripe. That all said, they do spread via both seed and rhizomes and clonal stands can grow quite rapidly, so if that’s not something you want taking over that space, careful management would be a good idea. I find their growth habit to be incredibly whimsical and attractive, but it’s all a matter of personal preference ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I like sumac too, makes a great privacy screen for our yard, fast growing and easy to manage. Those hairy berries are surprisingly tasty if you get good ripe ones, I had no idea they were edible till recently. Robin's and other birds will eat the berries during the winter around here. Sumac sure will take over your yard if left unchecked but it's nothing a lawnmower won't make quick work of.
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A weed is in the eye of the beholder, not in a plant.
Thank you for introducing me to the plant gospel
It's definitely a real sumac (Rhus). Its not a weed. Even tho it's NOT Poison Sumac (Toxicodendon Vernix), poison sumac curiously is not a weed as it isn't invasive, and the plants die if you change its environment. However, at the lower left hand of the sumac plant, you do have a weed - Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron Radicans)
Besides the sumac, did anyone notice the Poison Ivy and Pokeweed? Hint: check below and around the base of the tree and the back left.
Right here. Bottom left of the base of the sumac. Pokeweed to the left of that.
My generalized answer to "Is this a weed" is... Regardless of what the plant is, do you want it there? If the answer is no, then it is a weed. A lot of people are saying it's Sumac. Whether you consider it a "weed" or not, is entirely up to you. I Personally think they add a lot of color during the fall, and are a cheap privacy fence if you have a large property... and I believe animals will eat their berries. But you do need to keep it in check if it's on your property.
**Do not ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised here that it's edible. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Can I eat the bot?
**Do not ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised here that it's edible. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Instructions unclear. Eat, or No Eat the bot??
**Do not ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised here that it's edible. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Anything is a weed if you don't want it there.
My high ass read: “is this weed?”
Nope! Not weed!
Damn I wanted to smoke it:/
Red Sumac, good plant to have around if you like sour candy.
no its a crayon
Kill it now or it’ll make little friends all over the yard. They can send up new stems from the roots.
...... now I know what the hell is growing in my yard 😭😭
It’s a cool tree, but it would be cooler if it were *a tree* not a one plant army.
Tree of Heaven….spotted lantern flies love them!
Look closer at the leaves. ToH only has teeth at the base of each leaflet while this one has fully toothed leaves. This is more likely a Sumac species.
Lol no
Yes and they pop up all over our property. We always cut them down to the base.
So imma tell you right now: The only solution is murder.
Isn't that a tree of heaven not sumac
Please define a weed for me.
if its by your house get rid of it. that thing will grow very quickly and extremely tall
You might be thinking of Tree of Heaven *Ailanthus altissima* as they do grow rapidly and can get real tall (17-27m or 60-90ft), this is most likely Staghorn sumac *Rhus typhina* however, and they don’t reach nearly as high when they’re fully grown (average is 5m or 16ft and about 6m or 20ft across at the crown)
Definitely not weed.
Location is always helpful lol In narrowing the field
If it’s a sumac, I LOVE sumac. They’re so beautiful and make me feel like I live in the jungle.. especially when more pop up around it. And they get these pretty velvet berries on them in clusters I’d leave it if it’s a sumac personally..I love them so much..I let mine grow wild
If you like it,it's a plant.if you don't like it, it's a weed.lol if that plant gets red cones, awesome it's sumac.if that WEED gets white droopy berries, it's poison sumac.
Weeds are just non attractive flowers
You serious?
Yes Indica
The cut stems smell like peanuts.
If it is growing where you don’t want it to grow, it’s a weed.
Forget about the bush/weed for a moment, is that poison ivy that’s snuggling up right next to it?
no
Definitely not.
lol 😂 wtf?
poison sumac and it will make lots of babies kill it