Rhus typhina

The staghorn sumac is in the cashew or Anacardiaceae family and is native to southeastern Canada, the northeastern and midwestern United States and the Appalachian Mountains but is widely cultivated as an ornamental throughout the temperate world.

The plant was named for its soft brown hairs on the new shoots which resemble a stag's antlers.

• Leaves are alternate, compound and up to 60 cm long with up to 27 lanciolate, sharply-toothed leaflets per leaf, 12 cm long and 5 cm across. The leaves turn bright orange or red in the fall. A cutleaf form (R. typhina 'Dissecta') has finely cut leaflets that become a most attractive yellow-orange colour in the fall.
• Male and female flowers over the winter and spring are in dense conical reddish-brown clusters (called sumac bobs) at the tops of shoots. The clusters become light green when flowers are in full bloom.
• Seeds are small drupes, or stone fruit (like avocados), with fleshy outer part and single pit in the middle, covered with soft brown hairs on the outside.