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Staghorn Sumac

Rhus typhina

Found in roadsides, old pastures, thickets, clearings, rock outcrops, barrens. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

87
Keystone

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
About 30 feet
Spread
20–30 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to average

Space about 25 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
May to June
Fruiting season
June to September

Recorded in 21 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Forest edges and thickets

Landscape label QS:Lit,"Paesaggio" label QS:Lhu,"Tájkép" label QS:Lca,"Paisatge" label QS:Lde,"Landschaft" label QS:Lpt,"Paisagem" label QS:Lda,"Landskab" label QS:Lsl,"Krajina" label QS:Lja,"風景" label QS:Lsv,"Landskap" label QS:Lpl,"Pejzaż" label QS:Luk,"Пейзаж" label QS:Lnl,"Landschap" label QS:Les,"Paisaje" label QS:Ltr,"Manzara" label QS:Lfi,"Maisema" label QS:Len,"Landscape" label QS:Lfr,"Paysage" label QS:Lmk,"Предел" label QS:Lru,"Пейзаж"
Paul Sawyier, Landscape: young trees and shrubs in autumn colour crowding the rocky edge of a Kentucky woodland. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky (Paul Sawyier, Landscape; Johnson Collection), a neighboring state.Landscape label QS:Lit,"Paesaggio" label QS:Lhu,"Tájkép" label QS:Lca,"Paisatge" label QS:Lde,"Landschaft" label QS:Lpt,"Paisagem" label QS:Lda,"Landskab" label QS:Lsl,"Krajina" label QS:Lja,"風景" label QS:Lsv,"Landskap" label QS:Lpl,"Pejzaż" label QS:Luk,"Пейзаж" label QS:Lnl,"Landschap" label QS:Les,"Paisaje" label QS:Ltr,"Manzara" label QS:Lfi,"Maisema" label QS:Len,"Landscape" label QS:Lfr,"Paysage" label QS:Lmk,"Предел" label QS:Lru,"Пейзаж", Paul Sawyier, c. 1890-1917. Public domain. Source record. scaled to 1280 x 1052 by the Wikimedia thumbnailer from 1440 x 1184; no crop or other change

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Cliffs, ledges, rock outcrops, talus and rocky summits where the source does not name the rock. A named rock files the place under its own glade or outcrop type instead.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 72 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (49)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

49CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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 purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
  • Argyrotaenia quercifolianaYellow-Winged Oak Leafroller Moth, Lined Oak Leafroller
  • Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
Show all 49
  • Caloptilia belfragellaDogwood Caloptilia
  • Caloptilia rhoifoliellaSumac Leafblotch Miner Moth, Sumac Caloptilia
  • Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
  • Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Cleora sublunariaDouble-Lined Gray
  • Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
  • Datana perspicuaSpotted Dantana
  • 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
  • Lophocampa caryaeHickory Tussock Moth, Hickory Tiger Moth
  • Marathyssa basalisLight Marathyssa
  • Marathyssa inficitaDark Marathyssa
  • Marathyssa pulcherrimusBeautiful Eutelia
  • Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
  • Moodna ostrinellaDarker Moodna
  • Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
  • Nemoria rubrifrontariaRed-Fronted Emerald
  • Olethreutes appendiceumServiceberry Leafroller
  • Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
  • Paectes oculatrixEyed 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
  • Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
  • Telphusa longifasciellaY-Backed Telphusa
  • Tetracis crocallataYellow Slant-Line
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Paralobesia rhoifructana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
17BirdsRecorded eating Rhus in West Virginia

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.

Show all 17
Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

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 17

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Anacardiaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3–8
Soil pH
Neutral
Flower color
Red
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Single crown
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
September

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources