What’s that red in the woods? Sumac, most likely. “It’s a harbinger,” said Julie Janoski, Plant Clinic Manager at The Morton Arboretum. “When you see those first scarlet sumac leaves, you know autumn ...

Q: African sumacs in the valley seem to be getting more stressed through the years. The bark begins to peel, and the trunk sheds through the branches. Is this an appropriate tree to plant in the ...

Always champion of the underdog, the Grump comes to you today to defend the honor of a maligned and seldom appreciated plant -- sumac. Sumac gets a bad rap for two reasons. First, people think because ...

I’m afraid I have poison sumac at the edge of my lawn and that in the fall its red berries will spread it. Doesn’t it sucker, too? What should I do? Poison sumac is fairly uncommon. It is a sparse ...

When I announced to some friends that I was planning to establish a native sumac grove on my property, the first thing I heard was, “Why would you want to plant that trash tree on your property?” I ...

There is a weed growing along the roadsides that I hope you will develop an appreciation for after reading today’s column. In fact, I’ll bet you the more you know about this weed, the greater your ...

Our native sumacs are misunderstood plants that often have a bad reputation for closely resembling the “tree-of-heaven,” or ailanthus tree. Sumac are most often found in open, recently disturbed sites ...

The staghorn sumac has been such a delight this autumn, along with many other trees, and bits of it remain in sheltered spots. Not only does it colour well in autumn, but it shows interesting stem ...

Every morning at 5 a.m. my girlfriend Lorie and I walk. Besides the exercise benefit, seeing the world around us at that hour every weekday all year round challenges us to take notice. We were walking ...

APPALACHIAN INTERPRETATION: Ryan Milt, owner of Asheville Wild Foods, uses sumac berries to make a local version of Middle Eastern za’atar spice, which he sells along with other products at the West ...