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thepollywogpond

sumac male or female

c2g
10 years ago

So I had a volunteer staghorn sumac sprout up a year ago and I decided to keep it around. It's now about 15' tall and aside from having an appreciation for sumacs this time of year, it gave us somewhat of an instant privacy screen. I kind of like the layering it gives by branching above the serviceberry and button bush below.

After a year of growing, there are no fruit clumps. Is it safe to assume at this point that it's a male? I figure if I'm going to keep up on a sumac, it may as well be a female, so I'll replace it this fall unless there's a chance it can still be female.

(btw, an excavated pond is in the foreground and in between the button bush and sweetbay is going to be a mini vernal pool runoff area.)

Comments (11)

  • Iris GW
    10 years ago

    The first question to ask is did it flower? Never any fruit without a flower as both males and females need to flower.

  • c2g
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I don't recall seeing any flowering.

  • Iris GW
    10 years ago

    Then yes there is still a chance that it is female.

  • lucky_p
    10 years ago

    You're sure it's sumac, and not Ailanthus?
    I can't tell from the photo, but none of the sumacs here would have a single trunk that tall without some lower branching.

  • Iris GW
    10 years ago

    Oh lucky_p, good point!! It is rather tall and unbranched, isn't it?

    Check this link out - near the bottom are excellent leaf scar pictures and in my opinion is the best way to tell right now (without fruit or flowers) what you have. Pull off a leaf to get a fresh scar to examine.

    Of course if you pull off the leaf then you have that to look at too and that can be quite distinctive ... :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Differences

  • pteroceltis
    10 years ago

    The other plants next to it have the same growth habit; I'm guessing they are shaded. See that brilliant fleck of color in the branches? Premature senescence, and an aspect shared by many sumacs.

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    Lucky, partially-shaded smooth sumacs near my lot are much taller & skinnier than typical.

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    10 years ago

    When you're done checking out the leaf give it a crushing... If it stinks and makes you want to immediately wash the smell off your hands, then it's alianthus. I think it's sumac though. I have several with the single stem look. They grow quickly, kind of like..... weeds?
    Jk, I keep mine for the same reason, near instant privacy along the fence while other stuff fills in.

  • alexavd
    3 years ago

    Just saw your discussion, 6 years later. :-) You may not still have the plant by now. Def sumac, agree with the coloring on the base of the leaves being characteristic, and the legginess comes from shade. It may be too shady there to flower. Correct that both males and females will flower but only females will produce fruits. Also --- in 2016, I dug up one from the side of the road that I knew was female because it had fruit. I transplanted it into my yard and it was fine and healthy, but for some reason, the thing never bloomed until this year, 2020, 4 years later. No idea why. I'm doing backflips over it finally flowering.

  • Laura Wynowsky
    3 years ago

    For the last 3 years the wild sumac behind my place have been male, but this year while the flowers started out looking like male flowers some of them started to get tighter and are now a pink colour...weird thing is that some of the flowers on the same tree still look like males. I live in Midland Ontario.