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Difference between Sumac and Ailanthus seedlings

19 years ago

Hello. I absolutely LOVE most varieties of Sumac - staghorn, smooth whatever. So I hate to pull young seedlings thinking they're the dreaded Tree of Heaven. I've searched this site but can find no real answers to help me distinguish between the two. I know that some Sumac turns red in Fall (in MD) but other than - what else?

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Comments (10)

bob64
19 years ago
Here is a link to an article that I came across that might help: http://www.themondaygarden.com/archives/2005/01/ailanthus_and_s.html
You can also try pulling off a leaf and smelling it. Ailanthus smells horrible.
ladyslppr
19 years ago
Ailanthus smells bad. break a leaf or twig from a large Ailanthus, learn the smell, then do the same to small ones until you figure out how to tell the difference. i am sure there is a way to tell visually, but it probably has to be learned, can't easily be described.
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As the name implies Rhus glabra is glabrous or lacking in pubescence. So we have to fall back on other traits of leaf morphology. Sessile leaflets on sumac rather than stalked leafles on TOH is a good place to start. I took this pic this morning of Smooth Sumac. The flowers were buzzing with insects. Notice how clean the foliage is. If the homeowner puts sumac on their postage-sized lot that's a mistake made out of ignorance. Sumac is best suited to vast, open areas and sucessional landscapes. Cut stems of both Staghorn & Smooth Sumac exude sticky latex which must have been the inspiration for Elmer's Glue. This is not found with TOH
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i personally love the smell but this tree is extremely invasive it reproduces through the seed but also new trees sprout from the roots witch run very long. i have a bunch in my backyard, and i had no clue what they were until i went to use it in my compost pile since there was so much. I ripped up the leaves and smelled a strong peanut butter smell, and had to research what i was dealing with. it was brought over from Asia and is used to treat baldness, to mental illness. im going to be doing some essential oil extraction of this tree to test the effect of topical applications, eating it, and smoking it. {DO NOT ATTEMPT THE SMOKING TEST YOURSELF IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG IT WILL GO WRONG VERY FAST}
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Ok, we lost the last game, and since this tournament was decided on points, came in who-knows, as the rest of the teams were playing later, and we came on home. The beans are "Kings Banquet", originally given to me by some folks whose grandparents homesteaded here, and we've looked and researched around earlier - Seed Savers Exchange has this as the only place they've been seen. Maybe it's some other variety, but with a different name, or it well could have been brought in by the Italian migrants to the area, or some other source. I just have no idea. I sent some to Steve a few years ago, and he's still alive. I've sent some to some market farmers out in California, and they say it's a customer favorite. I sure like them. Great fresh, for me, anyway, they have some flavor. They also do a long time on the vine when they're tender, can well, and the dry seeds are good as well. I usually plant them in the same row I do the peas - peas come out, these go in. I'd suggest picking them at different sizes to see what / where you like them the best. As with any pole bean, as long as you pick them, they keep producing. Re multi-colored sorghum, this is fun. The plants look like corn. I dunno how old that seed is, maybe 4 years? Anywho, best results ever were planting 3 seeds per cell about now, germinating them, pinching off all but one, then setting them out after frost about 1 ft spacing, for as much room as you want to devote, but at least a 6 ft by 6 ft plot. I used a 15 - 15 - 15 fertilizer, spread it about 1 pellet per dime, watered well through June and it was established. once in July, once in Aug. Things were over my head. You could also plant them directly about now - just thin them to 1 / sq foot. Re that Salvia grandiflora, again it takes until the 3rd year to get up to knock 'em dead status. So year one and two are establishing the plant. Pinch the shoot tips when they're 6" high. Then again when they're a foot high. That for the first 2 years. The third year, pinch the tips every 6" of growth until either you get fed up with it, or it's August, then watch the show. All good fun ;->. We're up to Grand Junction for another tournament this coming weekend, then we start swimming season.
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nonews
19 years ago
The link didn't work for me. Has it been moved? Nancy
gardengrove_ac
19 years ago
Tree of heaven also has glands on the very back leaves that form notches...if you compaire your young leaf to a known sumac, if its a tree of haven it will have two distinct indents where the leaf starts to broaden after leaving the stem. Or you can bruse it, and if it smells like rotten peanuts then you know you have TOH.
Peace,
Nate
bob64
19 years ago
You are right. Access to that article cannot be had at the moment.
Here is what the PCA Alient Plant Working Group says:

NOTE: Correct identification of ailanthus is essential. Several native shrubs, like sumacs, and trees, like ash, black walnut and pecan, can be confused with ailanthus. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), native to the eastern U.S., is distinguished from ailanthus by its fuzzy, reddish-brown branches and leaf stems, erect, red, fuzzy fruits, and leaflets with toothed margins.
fillup
17 years ago
http://www.themondaygarden.org/archives/2005/01/ailanthus_and_staghorn_sumac.html

That looks like the article that was relocated. I am also having trouble differentiating black walnut from tree of heaven. I guess I will just have them both taken out (there are two) because whatever they are, they are invasive and terrible.
Iris GW
17 years ago
The bark on black walnut should be noticeably different from tree of heaven. Tree of heaven has rather smooth bark, the walnut should be more furrowed.

Also that little "notch" on one side of the tree of heaven leaf is distinctive. Link below. Here is another {{gwi:1067897}}.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1067899}}
southernjenny_gmail_com
15 years ago
Tree of heaven has a very smooth edge to the leaflet. It also has a notch at the base of eack leaflet. Black walnut has a serated edge to the leaves that are about like a butter knife. Sumac also has smooth margins on the leaflets but does not have the single ear or notch at the base. I have found the best way to kill the TOF is to drill holes in the wood slanting downward and fill them with weed killer. Do this every week for a month and it's a goner. Cut them live and you will have ten instead of one.
If you are still having trouble try this site it is great for identification, easy to use and lots of pictures!
http://www.oplin.org/tree/index.html
User
12 years ago
good post!
User
12 years ago
I agree, the notch at the base of the leaf and if you've ever been lucky enough to clear a field of trees of heaven you will NEVER EVER eat peanut butter again!!!!

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