FNPS Plant Database

Rhus aromatica

fragrant sumac
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

fragrant sumac

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Rhus aromatica

Family:

Anacardiaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

3-6 (8) ft tall by 3-8 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

red

Phenology:

deciduous

Noted For:

Showy Fruits, Fall Color, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen shrub, border, windbreak. This is a spreading, somewhat sprawling shrub.

Considerations:

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

Seed. Often grown in the midwest from bareroot seedlings.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Not wet but not extremely dry -to- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Slightly acidic to neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Birds, Mammals

Primarily pollinated by bees.



  • Provides nesting, roosting and loafing cover for a variety of songbirds and game birds.


  • Its fruit may not be the first choice of many kinds of wildlife, which allows it to persist into mid-winter for emergency use when other sources of food are covered by snow. Its twigs and foliage provide good deer browse. (excerpted from Kansas Forest Service description)


Native Habitats:

Dry, somewhat open woods.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Range barely reaches north Florida.
FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

University of Illinois Extension. (Undated). Fragrant Sumac ( Rhus aromatica ) [in] Selecting Shrubs for Your Home. ( https://web.extension.illinois.edu/shrubselector/detail_plant.cfm?PlantID=427 ). Accessed 2026. University of Illinois Extension, Urbana, IL.


Yiesla, Sharon. (2025). Fragrant sumac ( Rhus aromatica ). ( https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/fragrant-sumac ). Accessed 2026. Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.


Taylor, Jane. (2004). Rhus aromatica , fragrant sumac. ( https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/rhuaro ). Accessed 2026. U.S. Forest Servivce, U.S. Department of Agriculture.


University of Tennessee Extension Service. (2010). Desired pH Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants. ( https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2021/10/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf ). Accessed 2026. University of Tennessee Extension, Knoxville.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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