Rhus typhina aka Stag's Horn Sumac

Staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, is a deciduous shrub or small tree in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It grows wild across eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Its range runs from Quebec and Ontario west to Minnesota. It reaches south to Georgia, Indiana and Iowa. In the wild it forms thickets on woodland edges, roadsides, embankments and stream margins. Gardeners also know it as velvet sumac or vinegar tree.

In gardens it usually grows 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 8 m) tall. Some plants stay as low as 8 feet (2.5 m). It sends up suckers from its roots, so it can spread as wide as it is tall, or wider. The crown is open and often flat-topped, with a coarse texture. Growth is fast. The young branches are stout and covered in reddish-brown hairs. This fuzz looks like velvet on a deer's antlers and gives the plant its name. Older stems lose their hairs and the bark becomes grey-brown and scaly.

The leaves are alternate and pinnate, 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) long. Each carries 11 to 31 pointed, toothed leaflets. They stay green through summer and turn yellow, orange and scarlet in autumn. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants. Small yellow-green flowers appear in upright panicles in late spring or early summer. Female plants then bear dense, cone-shaped clusters of hairy red drupes. These ripen in late summer and often last through winter.

The plant needs full sun for the best autumn colour, though it tolerates part shade. It grows in most soils, including clay, chalk, sand and shallow rocky ground. Good drainage matters, because it dislikes wet soil. Once settled, it copes with drought and urban conditions. It is hardy to USDA zone 3 and rated H6 in the UK.

Staghorn sumac suits wild, informal or naturalised areas where it has room to spread. Its suckering roots help hold soil on slopes and banks. Birds such as pheasant, quail and wild turkey eat the fruit. Native bees visit the flowers for nectar. It also feeds the caterpillars of the Luna moth and the Spring Azure butterfly. People have used the leaves, bark and roots for tannin and dyes.

The main problem is its spread. Root suckers can form colonies and become a nuisance in borders. Remove unwanted suckers in winter. You can cut leggy plants to the ground every few years to renew them. Possible diseases include Verticillium wilt, honey fungus, coral spot, leaf spots, rusts and powdery mildew. Scale insects, aphids, caterpillars and mites may also appear.

The fruit is edible and very sour. Soak the clusters in cool or warm water to make a tart, lemony drink. Do not boil them, as this releases tannins and makes the drink bitter. Cooks also use the fruit in pies. Sources describe the plant as not poisonous. A possible skin rash from the sap has been suggested but not confirmed.