 |
| BAYFIELD SWEET CHERRIES ARE RIPE |
 |
| SUMAC FEMALE FLOWER SPIKE, YELLOW; LAST YEAR'S BERIES, RED... |
 |
| FEMALE FLOWER SPIKE, TURNS TO PINK AFTER FERTILIZATION... |
 |
| MALE SUMAC FLOWER |
Friday, 8:30 AM. 65 degrees F, wind SSW, calm with a few gusts. The sky is cloudless but hazy.
The humidity stands at 29.99" and is steady. It will be a nice summer day. I am stiff as a board from working in the garden, but have to get back to the task today.
Bayfield sweet cherries are ripe. Apple Hill Orchards have two varieties, Lapin and Cavalier. Both are excellent, not quite as sweet as the bing cherries from Washington state, but every bit as tasty.
The staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, in the Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae) is a large shrub or small tree native to rocky places and poor soil throughout much of North America. It is very aggressive and can’t be used in small landscapes but it is beautiful in all seasons in its natural habitat. Smooth sumac, R. glabra, is very similar. Many species of Rhus are poisonous, such as poison ivy, poison sumac and poison oak, but the poisonous and non-poisonous species are not likely to be confused. The bark and berries of both staghorn and smooth sumac have been much used in tanning and dyeing, and the bark and berries often used in herbal medicine for their astringent qualities (similar uses in both European and Indian cultures). The berries make a pleasant cold tea, and have been used to flavor meats. Male and female flowers are borne on different plants, so some shrubs bear the fuzzy red fruits and some do not. Sumac plants have the unusual ability to change themselves from male to female, or vice0-versa. I know that this occurs but have found no information as to how or why. Both male and female flowers are yellow at first, the female then turning pink then finally red when its berries are ripe.
The stag horn sumac and the smooth sumac often hybridize. In general the smooth sumac is a more southern, the staghorn a more northern, species. The genus Rhus also contains p0ison ivy, R. radicans, and poison sumac, R vernix. The former is mostly a climbing vine and the later only grows in swamps, so neither is very likely to be confused with the sumacs, which form large clones on dry and rocky hillsides and similar locations. As far as I know the sumacs are not at all poisonous, and the ripe berries have a rather pleasant, lemony taste in one's mouth although I wouldn't swallow the hard little nutlets. A number of sumac species are used to manufacture fine varnishes, and the yellow wood for dye.
Sumacs have wonderful fall foliage colors, brilliant pinks, oranges, yellows and reds, and are worth having in the landscape for that reason alone, but they are very aggressive and grow very large and have to be used with care, and are best used in the large, naturalized landscape.
The staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, in the Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae) is a large shrub or small tree native to rocky places and poor soil throughout much of North America. It is very aggressive and can’t be used in small landscapes but it is beautiful in all seasons in its natural habitat. Smooth sumac, R. glabra, is very similar. Many species of Rhus are poisonous, such as poison ivy, poison sumac and poison oak, but the poisonous and non-poisonous species are not likely to be confused. The bark and berries of both staghorn and smooth sumac have been much used in tanning and dyeing, and the bark and berries often used in herbal medicine for their astringent qualities (similar uses in both European and Indian cultures). The berries make a pleasant cold tea, and have been used to flavor meats. Male and female flowers are borne on different plants, so some shrubs bear the fuzzy red fruits and some do not. Sumac plants have the unusual ability to change themselves from male to female, or vice0-versa. I know that this occurs but have found no information as to how or why. Both male and female flowers are yellow at first, the female then turning pink then finally red when its berries are ripe.
The stag horn sumac and the smooth sumac often hybridize. In general the smooth sumac is a more southern, the staghorn a more northern, species. The genus Rhus also contains p0ison ivy, R. radicans, and poison sumac, R vernix. The former is mostly a climbing vine and the later only grows in swamps, so neither is very likely to be confused with the sumacs, which form large clones on dry and rocky hillsides and similar locations. As far as I know the sumacs are not at all poisonous, and the ripe berries have a rather pleasant, lemony taste in one's mouth although I wouldn't swallow the hard little nutlets. A number of sumac species are used to manufacture fine varnishes, and the yellow wood for dye.
Sumacs have wonderful fall foliage colors, brilliant pinks, oranges, yellows and reds, and are worth having in the landscape for that reason alone, but they are very aggressive and grow very large and have to be used with care, and are best used in the large, naturalized landscape.
No comments:
Post a Comment