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- Rhus hirta
Rhus hirta — staghorn sumac
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Facts
Staghorn sumac gets its name from its thick, velvety upper branches, which resemble the antlers of young male deer. Short-tongued bees, flies, and wasps visit the flowers for pollen, while carpenter bees occasionally burrow into the stems. Caterpillars of many moths and butterflies eat the foliage.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, meadows and fields
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Growth form
-
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- the plant is a tree
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- red
- Bud scale number
- there are no scales on the winter buds
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud position relative to scar
- the winter bud has a leaf scar partially or completely surrounding it
- Bud scale number
- there are no scales on the winter buds
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Leaf scar arrangement
- there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
- Winter bud scales
- the winter bud is naked (not covered with scales)
- Winter bud stalks
- the winter buds have no stalks
-
Flowers
- Anther color
- the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
- yellow or green
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence hairs
- there are hairs on some part of the inflorescence
- Inflorescence position
- the inflorescences grow on the twigs
- Inflorescence type
- the inflorescence is a panicle (branched with the individual flowers on stalks)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal appearance
- the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Sepal tip glands
- there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases
- Stamen number
- 5
- Stamen position relative to petals
- the stamens are lined up with the petals (antepetalous)
- Stamens fused
- the stamens are not fused to one another
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- red
- Fruit tissue origin
- there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is thick and colored
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
-
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- the plant is a tree
-
Leaves
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- Leaf blade base symmetry
-
- the leaf blade base is asymmetrical
- the leaf blade base is symmetrical
- Leaf blade bloom
- there is a noticeable powdery or waxy bloom on the underside of the leaf
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
- NA
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade vein pattern
- the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)
- Leaf blade veins
- the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf stalk shape
- the leaf stalk is not flattened
- Leaf teeth
-
- the leaf blade margin has teeth, which themselves have smaller teeth on them
- the leaf blade margin is serrulate (with forward-pointing) or denticulate (with outward-pointing) with tiny teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf is compound, with a single terminal leaflet and more than two additional leaflets
- Stipules
- there are no stipules on the plant, or they fall off as the leaf expands
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are clearly lenticels on the twigs
- Pith shape
- the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
- Pith type
- the pith inside the twig is solid, completely filled with spongy tissue
- Short shoots
- there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
- Twig bloom
- there is no bloom on the twig
- Twig hairs
- the twigs have hairs, but the hairs do not have glands
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig scales
- there are no scales on the twig surface
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- red
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Not classified
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- widespread (S-rank: S5)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
4. Rhus hirta (L.) Sudworth N
staghorn sumac. Datisca hirta L.; Rhus typhina L. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Roadsides, forest edges, dry fields.
3×4. Rhus glabra × Rhus hirta → Rhus ×pulvinata Greene is a rare sumac hybrid known from MA, ME, NH. It is recognized by its short-pubescent branchlets (the pubescence much shorter than that on the branchlets of R. hirta). The branches in this hybrid are glabrous (in R. hirta, the branches do not become glabrous until the 3rd year or later).
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Rhus glabra:
- branchlets devoid of hairs and with a whitish bloom (vs. R. hirta, with branchlets conspicuously hairy and without a bloom).
Synonyms
- Datisca hirta L.
- Rhus typhina L.