- Author: Dustin Blakey
The hardest part of writing an article is finding the inspiration for a topic, but fortunately I can find ideas in the strangest places. This morning while I was putting on some gloves, I noticed that a scar that I got between my fingers as a teenager from a particularly nasty case of poison oak that I scratched too much is now almost over my knuckle. I wondered what other things have moved since then? I know for sure my belly button is farther away from my belt than it used to be.
But since this is a plant story and not a submission for a medical journal, I feel compelled to discuss the gardening aspect of the moving scar story.
My childhood home was covered in thick, coastal scrub brush. Sure we had manzanitas, ceanothus, and some toyons, but I swear the dominant plant around our house was poison oak!* As a result, the Blakeys spent a lot of time scratching (or discussing scratching) poison oak rashes.
I find poison oak a revolting species from its years of antagonizing me, but there are a number of closely related plants that I actually like. One such plant is fragrant sumac. When crushed, leaves of fragrant sumac have a somewhat unpleasant odor. It's certainly not fragrant in the fresh, clean linen sense of the word. I'd call it pungent. It's "real" common name is skunk bush, but since that's not a good name to move plants in a nursery, we call it fragrant sumac instead.
Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) is a great plant that is often overlooked by gardeners. At first glance it looks like some wrongdoer blighted a landscape by planting poison oak. If you've ever had a good case of poison oak you'll likely cringe when you see it, but don't worry: it rarely causes itching. Some people who work closely with this plant can develop mild dermatitis, but it is uncommon. This is a case where "leaves of 3, let it be" is misleading.
It's easy to distinguish this plant from poison oak or ivy. If you look at the picture, the middle leaflet connects to the other two leaflets. On poison oak and ivy there is a small stem (petiolule) that connects the middle leaflet instead. The leaves also seem thicker than poison oak's, not that I've made a habit of grabbing either one.
This a plant that is happy with heat and is fully cold hardy almost everywhere in the Eastern Sierra. (Maybe not Bridgeport.) In the Owens Valley, it will be happiest with afternoon shade like everything else. It's a good choice for the east side of a building. I've never seen too many problems with the species. It seems to thrive in parking lots so it must be fairly tough.
Fragrant sumac is an excellent choice in mixed plantings, particularly in commercial settings or large beds. It works well in combination with ornamental grasses and small trees like Acer truncatum or crabapple. If you select one of the improved varieties, then it will be a low growing patch that can be used as a groundcover. Wild types can grow into thickets about 6 feet tall, or 2 meters if you're growing it outside the USA.
The glossy foliage is deciduous and turns red in fall—just like poison oak. Being deciduous, if planted alone it looks boring in winter which is why I recommend planting it with other species with more winter interest. Birds enjoy eating the fruit and I'm told butterflies like it, though I've not really noticed it being anything like a magnet to them.
The Jepson Manual claims it's a California native. I've never seen it in the wild here, but admittedly I've never made a point to look for it. The Internet says there are some in the Panamint Range. Maybe you'll find some there if you explore, but a more accessible place for us to locate this plant is in Reno. It is common in recent commercial developments there.
If you're looking to try something new, this may be a good plant to start with. And as an added bonus, it may scare off unwanted company that doesn't appreciate your 3-leafed shrubbery.
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*Also Baccharis pilularis, whose pollen I'm really allergic to. Atchoo!! It's another underused landscape plant.