The Stag’s Horn Sumach

Latin Name : Rhus typhina

Propagated by root cuttings, this is the deciduous tree/shrub, the Stag’s Horn Sumach. It is grown predominantly for its reliable and brilliant Autumn Leaf Colour and is definitely in the top 5 of ornamental trees and shrubs grown for that specific reason. When grown in drifts or mass plantings, it does also lend an ‘Oriental’ feel.

Its large Pinnate leaves grow on unusually hairy branches, whose likeness to the covering of a Deer’s antlers give it its Common Name.

By and large these flowers are held upright on the tree, and in this image there is a glimpse of the velvety down covering on the twig.

And this is the reason for its popularity. A reliably bright show in the late Autumn months which can last into the first snows of winter.