Staghorn Sumac
Rhus typhina
A tenacious plant that can grow in even the scrappiest conditions, you'll soon start spotting sumac everywhere from conservation areas to the sides of highways. Sumac is a member of the Anacardiaceae family, whose other members include cashew, mango, pistachio and poison ivy.
Named for the fuzzy covering on the branches, which resembles the downy covering on a stag's antlers, the staghorn sumac is full of natural art potential. The pithy stems can be hollowed out and whittled down to make dip pens, while the red panicles (the flower clusters) yield a lovely earthy pink tone.
The staghorn sumac is also a host plant of Melaphis rhois, known as the staghorn sumac aphid. This woolly aphid has a two-host life cycle where at different stages of its life it requires a sumac plant, and moss. The female aphid lays her egg on the underside of the sumac leaf. The sumac responds by forming a gall over the egg. Inside that gall, the aphids reproduce via parthenogenesis, and in late summer, winged females emerge and move to moss, where aphids are produced who eventually return to recolonize the sumac in spring. Research suggests that these aphids may have been following approximately this same cycle for around 48 million years!
Similar galls and a similar life cycle take place on the Chinese sumac, Rhus chinensis, by another sumac aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis. These galls are apparently a rich source of tannins, used for natural dyeing and ink-making.
