Now that’s not an opinion you don’t hear very often. I try to get my clients to love it too or, if they can’t enjoy Smooth Sumac for its unusual beauty, to at least appreciate the shrub for the myriad species of wildlife that it supports.
American Robin Flock Eating Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) Berries
Yesterday while walking through Halibut Reservation with daughter Liv, we encountered a very large flock of robins devouring seeds of sumac. The beautiful clump of sumac, with its bare crooked, leaning trunks and raspberry pink furry seedheads made a striking combination of shapes and textures against the windswept ocean vista. We disturbed the robin feast, but then Liv walked further down the path to photograph the Atlantic and I stayed behind, half hidden by an evergreen tree. The robins quickly returned to the ripened seedheads and I got to snap away until the next walker came along.
Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) is a shrub that naturally forms colonies; it can also be grown as a beautiful single-trunk tree. The yellowy-green flowers on female plants give way to deep rusty red berries held in erect, pyramidal clusters. What makes sumac so invaluable to wildlife? The fruits persist through the winter, providing nourishment for many, many species of birds and small mammals. Additionally, the foliage is a larval host plant for the Coral Hairstreak Butterfly!
American Robin and Winterberry photo submitted by Jacqueline Bennett. Thanks Jacqueline for sharing your beautiful photo!
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Liv submits apparition from Halibut Point
Good Morning Gloucester 