Posts Tagged "staghorn sumac"

Sumac: Not Poison

Posted by on Oct 23, 2016 in fall, leaves, Unmowed Blog | 0 comments

Sumac: Not Poison

Sumacs don’t seem to fit in a suburban backyard—they belong on a tropical island. So flamboyant a tree should have parrots and toucans perching in it instead of chickadees.

Read More

Sumac: Rabbit Food

Posted by on Mar 8, 2015 in Unmowed Blog, wildlife, winter | 0 comments

Sumac: Rabbit Food

It’s an old saying: it’s an ill wind that blows no one any good. The wind and ice and snow that blew so outrageously this winter were definitely bad for this young sumac tree. The fragile wood bent and cracked under the weight of wet snow. But this turned out to be extremely good news for the rabbits. The rabbits hang out in the shrubbery and tumbledown sheds at the edge of the yard. Things have been pretty tough for them this epic winter. Not being talented at climbing trees or flying south, they’re stuck down here, like the rest of us, knee-deep in snow. Food sources,...

Read More

Staghorn Sumac: Painting With Trees

Posted by on Aug 7, 2013 in birds, edible, seeds, summer, Uncategorized, Unmowed Blog, wildlife | 0 comments

Staghorn Sumac: Painting With Trees

Staghorn sumac. (Rhus typhina.) These dainty little trees are a common sight along roadsides. They seem to spring up everywhere, near dumps or malls or in weedy backyards. They’re the kind of tree no one notices. Except birds, of course, who love the sweet fuzzy berries, high in vitamin C and energy. But four hundred years ago, sumac seeds were almost literally worth their weight in gold. English botanists explored the New World in the early 1600s and were thrilled to discover a host of exotic species: exciting plants (which are ho-hum to us today) like goldenrod, sugar maples, white pines,...

Read More