Staghorn Sumac as a Specimen Tree

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Rhus typhina, Staghorn Sumac is a wild thing in our area though we encourage it because of its benefits to wildlife.

Its practical uses include growing stands as windbreaks but I recently saw it used as a specimen tree on each side of a home near St. Louis, MO.

They were both large specimens that were sort of Zen-art looking things with fat trunks. They were the only plants on each side of the building.

There are cultivated varieties such as Shredleaf (Rhus tphina Dissecta), Laceleaf and Cutleaf (Rhus typhina Laciniata) but these both looked like they had been allowed to grow in place for 50-years.


What Tree Is It?
What do  you think? Do you grow it for the birds like
we do or think it is a splendid landscape tree/shrub?
 


 
 

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