permaculture

["Guy Clark" <guyclark@socket.net>]

Hello-
        I would concur with much of what has been said about the Sumac.  It 
tends
to grow in "WASTE AREAS" and suckers profusely to form large colonies.  It
grows in roadside cuts here in Missouri.  These areas are where Echinacea
(Echinacea purpurea and pallida), Goldenrod (Solidago spp), Yarrow
(Achillea spp), Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carrota) and other plants thrive.
 This same area is often densely populated by Teasel (Dipsicum fullum I
believe).  The sumacs are tolerant of nearly all soil conditions, except
wet feet.  To quote Michael Dirr's excellent Manual of Woody Landscape
Plants:
        Smooth Sumac grows 9 to 15' high with a comparable spread.      
Usually grows
in colonies as it suckers and develops in all directions        from the 
mother
plant.  This is very evident in plantings which occur   along railroad
tracks and other waste areas.  The foliage is medium    green in summer
changing to excellent orange-red-purple         combinations in fall.  
Flowers are
dioecious greenish, June-July,  borne in 6 to 10" long panicles.  Fruit is
a scarlet, hairy drupe which    persists late into winter.  Good plant for
mass plantings, highways,       dry, poor soil areas....The essential 
difference
between this species and        R. typhina (Staghorn Sumac) is the lack of
pubescence on the young         stems...Cultivated 1620.  Zone 2 to 9.

Enjoy.
Namaste',
Guy Clark