Putnam Park Wildflowers


Flower ID: IMG_6441.JPG-05-23-2021
Flower name (scientific): Rhus aromatica Aiton PY: 1789. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) RHOOS a-ro-MAT-ik-a
Flower name (common): Fragrant Sumac
Family name (common): Rhus
Family name (scientific): Anacardiaceae
Scientific name origin:
     Genus: Classical Latin from ancient Greek for a sumac.
    Specific epithet: Latin for fragrant or aromatic, referring to the smell of the crushed leaves.
Common name origin: From the smell of the crushed leaves. Sumac is derived from the French and the Latin sumac, originally referring to both the plant and the red-colored fruit.
Flower description:
     Size: 0.2 to 0.4 inches (5 to 10 mm)
     Petal count: 5
     Color: yellow or green
     Other: flower arrangement, Spike
Plant description:
     Size: 40 to 80 inches (1 to 2 m)
     Stem hairy:
     Other:
Leaf description: attachment is alternate, type is compound
     Size: The terminal leaflet, which is the largest, is up to 9 cm long and 4 to 8 cm wide.
     Color:
     Hairy:
     Other: Shape: leaf, trifoliate (MP), leaflet elliptic, oval-ovate, oblanceolate, or obovate (IL)
Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native
Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Uncommon
Bloom time (typical): April to June
Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial
Habitat: Prairies, savannas, woods, fields, roadsides, sun, sandy soil.
Fruit:
Seed:
Importance to wildlife:
Similar species (if any): No close lookalikes.
Ethnobotany: The Chippewa used this plant as a medicine for unspecified ailments (Reagan, p. 234, 1928). The Ojibwa employed this species to treat diarrhea (Hoffman, p. 201, 1891). The Natchez utilized this species to treat boils. The Midoo used this plant as a food source (Moerman, p. 471, 1998).
Latitude: 44.795878
Longitude: -91.513573
Altitude: 308.40
Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Columbia, Dane, Eau Claire, Grant, Green Lake, Milwaukee, Portage, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Walworth) Click here for distribution map
In US: (AL, AR, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV)
In Canada: (ON, QC)
References:
Synonym(s):
Basionym: na
Homotypic Synonym(s):
Heterotypic Synonym(s):
Autonym: Rhus aromatica var. aromatica (The other infraspecific is Rhus aromatica var. serotina (Greene) Rehder which is reported from ten central US states.)