Staghorn Sumac

August Tree-of-the-Month
Staghorn Sumac
Illustration by C.E. Faxon in Silva of North America by C.S. Sargent.
Rhus typhina
Rhus typhina is commonly called staghorn sumac because the hairy, almost
velvety stems look like the antlers of a stag (male deer). The bold red fruits are
also hairy, and stand out in the August landscape. These large fruit clusters each
contain up to 700 seeds and often remain on the plant until early spring.
125 Arborway
Boston, MA 02130-3500
617-384-5209
www.arboretum.harvard.edu
Big Leaves or Little Leaves?
At first glance the leaves of staghorn sumac may seem small, but they are big
compound leaves. Compound leaves are made up of many small leaflets; each leaf can
have a dozen or more leaflets, with a total length of one to two feet. Count the number
of leaflets on a few leaves—what is the largest number you can find?
Right now sumac leaves are dark green, but come fall they turn a spectacular range of
colors, from orange to scarlet to purple, before falling off.
In winter, when the leaves are gone, staghorn sumac is easily identifiable by the long
lasting fruits.
Letterboxing!
Letterboxing is a fun way to explore the sumacs of the Arboretum. For more information
on letterboxing, go to www.letterboxing.org.
• From the Visitor Center, follow the paved road to the top of Bussey Hill.
• Look for dark red horns pointing up out of the green leaves—that is the staghorn sumac.
• You have reached your destination! Look for the
letterbox on the right at the base of this plant, where
the rich red fruits are close to the ground. Follow the
directions inside the box and leave everything just as
you found it.
• This plant is accession16990*D. It was wild collected
in West Roxbury in September 1884 by the Arboretum’s
first plant propagator Jackson Thornton Dawson. Many
years later, Dawson described his role growing plants
in a Boston newspaper article: “In one year I collected
50,000 native shrubs to plant in the Arboretum.”
Place letterbox stamp here.
& More...
If you want to find more staghorn sumacs, there are several in the Arboretum along
Conifer Path, on Peters Hill, and in Bussey Brook Meadow. Some of these plants
are accessioned and others are growing spontaneously. Staghorn sumac is a multistemmed shrub; new stems sprout from the roots so a single plant can spread to form
a large colony. Because the plant is tolerant of compacted or rocky soil and road salt,
it is common to find it in degraded woodlands, unmowed highway banks and other
abandoned sites.