BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Rhus aromatica | Fragrant Sumac 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Fragrant sumac is a variable, straggly to upright shrub which grows from
1.6 to 6.6 feet (0.5-2 m) in height.  The plant is so-named because it
emits a fragrant odor when bruised.  The slender ascending branches are
puberulent, glabrate, or densely pilose [8].  Leaflets grow in groups of
three [1], and are variable in shape, lobing, and margin [8].  They tend
to be smaller at the western edge of the range [1].

The nearly-sessile flowers are generally yellow to pale yellow in color
[8], and are borne in a terminal compound spike [1].  The fruit, which
turns red when ripe, is actually a small drupe approximately 0.2 to 0.3
inch (5-7 mm) in diameter.  Each fruit contains a single nutlet [4].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Fragrant sumac produces drupes, each containing a single nutlet, in
terminal clusters [8].  Seed dormancy is prevalent due to the presence
of a hard, impermeable seedcoat [4], and germination is poor unless
seeds are specially treated.  Various methods of pretreatment have been
tested including sulfuric acid, and hot water soaks, scarification, and
cold treatment.  Seeds treated with sulfuric acid in laboratory trials
responded as follows [3]:

                           Maximum % Germination
                 Untreated                  Sulfuric Acid Treatment
                     0%                              22%
                                       
Brinkman [4] reported good results when seeds were treated with acid and
then stratified at low temperatures.

                           Pregermination Treatment
     Scarification         Stratification          Time       Germination
       sulfuric            34-51 degrees F         30 -           60%
       acid-1 hr.          (1-11 degrees C)        90 days   
            
Pretreated sumac seeds generally begin germination within 10 to 20 days,
with germination complete in 30 days.  When fragrant sumac seed is
planted during the fall following scarification, no cold treatment is
necessary, but when seed is sown in the spring, stratification for 30 to
90 days is essential in ensuring germination [4].

Fragrant sumac can also be readily propagated from root cuttings [4],
and is known to sprout vigorously after fire [25].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Fragrant sumac commonly occurs along the forested eastern margins of the
central grasslands of North America [14], and under degraded conditions
on the margins of the Gulf Coast prairie [15].  It grows at a range of
sites including open rocky woodlands, valley bottoms, and lower rocky
slopes [8,22].  


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Fragrant sumac has been identified as a climax species in several plant
communities.  It quickly sprouts after fire or other disturbance, and is
common in a number of early seral communities.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Fragrant sumac typically flowers from March to May, with the flowers
developing before the leaves expand [4,8].  Fruit generally ripens in
July and August [4].  

Related categories for Species: Rhus aromatica | Fragrant Sumac