How do you recognise Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)?

Leaf

Katrin Schneider / korina.info, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Staghorn sumac

Rhus typhina L.

Also known as: Stag's horn sumach, Velvet sumac

Family: Anacardiaceae

3 to 5 m tall

Gardens, banks, waste ground, any soil even poor

Flowering: June – July

Full sun

Hardy to -30°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its downy twigs recall the antlers of a stag in velvet, hence its common name 'stag's horn sumach'.

🍃 Leaves

Deciduous, pinnate compound, long, turning a blazing red-orange in autumn

🌸 Flowers

Small greenish flowers in upright panicles

🍎 Fruits

Conical clusters of velvety red fruits persisting all winter

🪵 Bark

Thick twigs covered with a brown down recalling deer antlers

🗺️ Distribution

North America (east); widely grown in France as an ornamental, often suckering and locally naturalised.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Flowers in dense panicles, nectar-yielding, visited by bees in summer.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted as a specimen for its blazing autumn foliage and its velvety red fruits persisting in winter; tends to sucker, to be watched.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity if eaten; the sap may occasionally irritate the skin of sensitive people.

🌱 Known cultivars

Tiger Eyes ('Bailtiger')

Dwarf sumach (about 2 m) with deeply cut chartreuse to golden-yellow foliage on contrasting pink petioles, turning orange-red in autumn; markedly more compact than the species.

Dissecta

Bright green, very finely cut foliage, almost fern-like, giving a lighter, lacier silhouette than the species; blazing orange-red in autumn.

🌿 Other Anacardiaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.