FNPS Plant Database

Rhus aromatica

fragrant sumac

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

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

Coming Soon!

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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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.

Citations:

Salt: https://web.extension.illinois.edu/shrubselector/detail_plant.cfm?PlantID=427



https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/fragrant-sumac



https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/rhuaro/all.html#:~:text=Pollination: Fragrant sumac is pollinated,"copious quantities" of seeds.



University of Tennessee Extension Service.  Desired Ph Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants.    https://extension.tennessee.edu/mtnpi/Documents/handouts/Fertility/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf   accessed 2021.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu /).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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