Fragrant Sumac; Squawbush; Squaw Bush
Rhus aromatica var. aromatica
Found in forests and woodlands; glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; streams, rivers and their banks; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 47%
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 3 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock
Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
52CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Rhus
- Actias lunaLuna Moth
- Citheronia regalisRegal Moth
- Achatia distinctaDistinct Quaker
- Acronicta longaLong-Winged Dagger, Darkish Dagger
- Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Antepione thisoariaVariable Antepione
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Archips georgianaFireworm, Georgia Leafroller
- Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
- Argyrotaenia quercifolianaYellow-Winged Oak Leafroller Moth, Lined Oak Leafroller
Show all 52
- Caloptilia belfragellaDogwood Caloptilia
- Caloptilia rhoifoliellaSumac Leafblotch Miner Moth, Sumac Caloptilia
- Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
- Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
- Chloropteryx tepperariaAngled-Winged Emerald
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Cleora sublunariaDouble-Lined Gray
- Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Datana perspicuaSpotted Dantana
- Datana robustaRobust Datana
- Derrima stellataPink Star
- Dichorda iridariaShowy Emerald
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Episimus argutanaSumac Leaftier
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Holcocera chalcofrontellaSumac Holcocera
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
- Marathyssa basalisLight Marathyssa
- Marathyssa inficitaDark Marathyssa
- Marathyssa pulcherrimusBeautiful Eutelia
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Moodna ostrinellaDarker Moodna
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
- Nemoria bifilataWhite-Barred Emerald
- Olethreutes appendiceumServiceberry Leafroller
- Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
- Paectes oculatrixEyed Paectes
- Paectes pygmaeaPygmy Paectes
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Pococera asperatellaMaple Webworm
- Pseudochelaria walsinghamiWalsingham's Moth
- Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
- Sciota subfuscellaStriped Sumac Leafroller
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Telphusa longifasciellaY-Backed Telphusa
- Tetracis crocallataYellow Slant-Line
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Paralobesia cypripediana
- Paralobesia rhoifructana
- Stigmella intermedia
52BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Rhus
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
15BirdsRecorded eating Rhus in Mississippi
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.
- Wild TurkeyFruit. 10 diet records
- American RobinFruit. 6 diet records
- Hermit ThrushFruit and seeds. 4 diet records
- Northern Bobwhite4 diet records
- VeeryFruit and seeds. 4 diet records
- Eastern BluebirdFruit. 3 diet records
- Swainson's ThrushFruit and seeds. 3 diet records
- White-eyed Vireo2 diet records
- Blue-headed Vireo1 diet record
- Eastern KingbirdFruit. 1 diet record
Show all 15
- European Starling1 diet record
- Evening Grosbeak1 diet record
- Northern CardinalFruit. 1 diet record
- Northern Mockingbird1 diet record
- Red-winged Blackbird1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Rhus 15
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
Plant details
- Family
- ANACARDIACEAE
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Mississippi occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications