Leaf guide › Compound leaves
Staghorn sumac
Rhus typhina
The blazing scarlet along roadsides and field edges, often the season’s first red.
- Fall color
- RedOrange
- Turns
- Early
- Leaves
- Alternate (one per spot)
- Size
- 1–2 ft. long overall
- Found in
- New England & New York, Great Lakes & North Woods, Midwest, Appalachians, Great Plains
How to recognize it
- Long compound leaf with 11 to 31 narrow, toothed leaflets.
- Fuzzy twigs, like velvet on a deer’s antlers.
- Upright cone-shaped clusters of fuzzy red berries.
- Grows in thickets at the edges of fields and roads.
Where to find it
Look for it in sunny, open places like roadsides, highway banks, old fields, and forest edges, usually in dense colonies.
Easy to confuse with
Worth knowing
Staghorn sumac is harmless, and its red berries have long been soaked in water to make a lemony drink. Smooth sumac, a close relative with hairless twigs, grows across nearly all of the lower 48.
Common questions
What color does staghorn sumac turn in fall?
Staghorn sumac turns brilliant scarlet and orange, and its fuzzy red fruit clusters add to the show.
When does staghorn sumac change color?
Early. It’s often one of the first splashes of red along roads and field edges, sometimes by early September.
How can you tell staghorn sumac from poison sumac?
Poison sumac: Smooth-edged leaflets (no teeth), drooping white or gray berries, and it grows in wet, swampy ground. Avoid touching it. Staghorn sumac: Long compound leaf with 11 to 31 narrow, toothed leaflets.
Where does staghorn sumac grow?
In the lower 48, look for it in New England & New York, the Great Lakes & North Woods, the Midwest, the Appalachians, and the Great Plains.
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