Fragrant Sumac
After the first moment of startlement, I realize that it’s OK to brush past it. I can even pick it...
At the end of October, it’s the loveliest color in the woodland understory.
But wait. Leaves of three? And no thorns on the stem? Are you sure you want to handle that?
Yep, we can pick a bouquet for the house if we like. This is Fragrant Sumac, a fine native shrub of the woodland understory throughout most of the United States. It is lovely to look at in fall. Its berries attract birds and feed wildlife. It’s a good citizen.
And I’m happy to report that it doesn’t cause a rash like Poison Ivy. (Rarely someone who works with it a lot professionally develops a sensitivity to it over time, but nothing like as severe as the Poison Ivy Scourge.)
How to tell which plant it is?
So how can you tell it from Poison Ivy? Not by the color, because both are green sometimes and red in the fall. Where I live, in southeast Iowa, Fragrant Sumac comes into its own after the first hard frost. That’s when it turns red and gorgeous. By that time, I can’t even find Poison Ivy, which curled up and disappeared in that same frost.
But in case you see one alone and are not sure which one you have, look at a group of three leaflets.
Fragrant Sumac
In Fragrant Sumac, the middle leaflet is connected directly to point from which all three emerge. There is no stem connecting the middle leaflet, or occasionally a tiny one that you can barely even see.
The middle leaflet tapers toward the base, but there is leaf tissue on both sides of the stem all the way to the connection point with the other two leaflets.
Poison Ivy
In Poison Ivy, look at the middle leaflet. You can see bare stem leading to the point where the three leaflets join. That bit of stem is naked, with no leaf material along its edges.
If you see that, it is a big DO NOT PICK SIGN.
So go ahead and fearlessly enjoy Fragrant Sumac growing in the woods. It is one of the pleasures of autumn.