Throughout the summer you can find a variety of galls – the wool sower gall, the oak apple gall, the scrub oak gall and many others. Many galls, like the ones listed here, are found on oaks, which are common host plants for many gall-producing insects. But a few weeks ago, I noticed a gall on staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) for the first time. If I hadn’t been inspecting the undersides of the leaves closely, in search of a butterfly…
The name “sumac” often evokes thoughts of poison sumac and general itchiness. But poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) is actually more closely related to poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) than staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) despite the shared common name. Staghorn sumac can be differentiated from poison sumac through a variety of characteristics. Both can grow fairly tall (~20 feet) and have pointy, alternate, compound leaves, however, they have very different habitat needs. You’ve most certainly seen large stands of staghorn sumac with…