VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Rhus typhina | Staghorn Sumac 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Staghorn sumac wood has been used for handcrafts [4].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Staghorn sumac seeds and fruits are eaten by many species of upland
gamebirds, songbirds [4], and mammals [45].  White-tailed deer [11]
and moose [19] browse the leaves and twigs.  The bark and twigs are
eaten by rabbits, especially in winter [8].


PALATABILITY : 
Staghorn sumac was listed as a high preference browse for moose on Isle
Royale, Michigan [22].  In southern and central Wisconsin [30] and
Minnesota [11] staghorn sumac was listed as fifth in preference for
white-tailed deer.

In New York staghorn sumac fruits were lowest in preference (of
blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis), gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa),
arrow-wood (Viburnum dentatum), and common buckthorn (Rhamnus
cathartica) for birds [15].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Nutritional values for staghorn sumac fruits (seeds and fruits ground
together) have been reported as follows [41]:

                       percent of fresh weight
moisture                  8
crude protein             5.0
crude fiber              13.37
lignin                   19.92
tannin                    4.06
cellulose                25.29

Northern bobwhites failed to thrive on a diet consisting solely of
staghorn sumac fruits [41].


COVER VALUE : 
Staghorn sumac is planted for wildlife cover in the Northern Great
Plains [14].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
In Maryland and West Virginia, staghorn sumac occurred on strip-mined
sites reclaimed to herbaceous annuals and perennials.  The frequency of
staghorn sumac on the sites was positively correlated with its relative
abundance in the adjacent forest edge [20].

On a site in New Hampshire, the vegetation and upper soil layers were
removed to create a sand pit.  Much of the site was left to revegetate
naturally; staghorn sumac presence was noted in a survey conducted 11
years after the site was abandoned [5].  


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Staghorn sumac is planted as an ornamental [8], particularly for low
water-use plantings (xeriscaping) [18], although its habit of producing
root sprouts is detrimental to lawn maintenance [14].  The
infructescence of staghorn sumac is used to make a beverage and jelly
[9,40].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Staghorn sumac is sometimes a troublesome invader of cleared sites.  It
was reported as abundant in clearcuts, but was not present in the
understory of intact pine (Pinus spp.) plantations in the Great Lakes
States.  It was also absent from the germinable seedbank of the intact
plantations [1].

Related categories for Species: Rhus typhina | Staghorn Sumac