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This grows in the wild along roadways in No. Calif, changing in height to maybe 4' or so. May stay a brilliant green.

It may indeed be a sumac, but most I see online have smaller leaves and are not smooth-edged. Also, this plant has a small section between branch and leaf itself, whereas what I see has branch directly connected to leaf.

Would like to plant in my yard amongst natural pine and oak trees. Any further help would be most appreciated, and I thank you--

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Marcia's Plant

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Is this a relative of Baby's Breath?

Comments (9)

jpaulmoore writes: Looking more like Ailanthus altissima to me. I went outside to check out one that was about the same size growing near my home. Yikes! Rhus glabra has more of a toothed margin the entire length of the leaf from a closeup I found on a search. Ailanthus has a most distinctive (rather unpleasant) odor too. Posted: 11:10 am on August 28th

Kerry_D writes: I really believe this is Rhus typhina, a shrub that springs up along roadsides in Northern CA. I seen it especially in the foothill of the Sierra. It has good fall color. Posted: 5:41 pm on July 17th

thankyouJesus writes: Thank you so very much for taking the time to help me!!
Prairietransplant, I'm grateful for your efforts and am looking and considering that link, which is indeed a good one. There is someone in my town (Hayfork is a small mountain town)who may have what I'm looking for. They called it "Landis....a noxious weed!". Well, I find nothing on the 'Net for that spelling or anything like it.
Anyone have any more input along that line?? I will be in the area of this actual plant in another week and then I'm cutting off a branch to study. Will add further comments then. Thanks again, y'all!! Posted: 5:03 pm on July 2nd

prairietransplant writes: Hello again. After poking around a bit more, I came across a blog post with some great photos differentiating sumacs from Ailanthus. One extremely helpful comparison was of the leaf scars. If you can go back to the roadside where you saw these specimens, you might be able to tell for sure. Here is the URL:

http://www.themondaygarden.org/archives/2005/01/ailanthus_and_staghorn_sumac.html

BTW, in some plants the leaf margins are quite variable, so may not be the best ID clue. Posted: 3:55 pm on July 2nd

cgoodwin writes: I think it may be Rhus glabra - smooth sumac. Ailanthus has large teeth at the leaf base, and this doesn't apper to have those, nor the toothed margins of other sumac species... Posted: 10:40 am on July 2nd

prairietransplant writes: Since you are in Northern California, there is a good chance this is Ailanthus altissima, common name Tree of Heaven. If I recall correctly, this tree was brought to California during the Gold Rush days, and has proven to be quite invasive. It's hard to tell from your photos, but if you can get an actual sample & compare to other sources, you might be able to tell. There's a botanical line drawing in Wikipedia that might help. If it does turn out to be the Ailanthus, you might want to stay away from it unless you are willing to grub out seedlings all the time. Check the invasive plants lists too... Posted: 1:53 pm on July 1st

thankyouJesus writes: I've searched for info & photos online--- "Smooth Sumac" sounds right from info, however some photos are showing ragged-sheaped leaves, others smooth. The one I want is smooth. Any ideas why the discrepancy? Posted: 11:28 am on June 30th

jblairmpls writes: Agreed, looks like sumac. Posted: 9:54 am on June 30th

terrimckyd writes: Probably sumac and if it is it will spread by runners underground though it is happiest in sun. Sumac flowers with fat tight panicles above the foliage and turns red in the fall. Posted: 9:36 am on June 30th

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