It’s time for fall color and even though it’s been dry, we’re starting to see some out here in the country. Our shrubs (sumac and sand plum) and vines (poison ivy and Virginia creeper) are showing a bit of orange and red. We have two kinds of sumac in the area – smooth sumac and winged sumac.
I’ve heard our sumac referred to as poison sumac. Poison sumac isn’t in this area. In fact, the only place in Oklahoma where it could possibly be found is in the swampy areas of southeastern Oklahoma. Poison sumac is found in wet areas, usually swamps. It’s a bush rather than a vine.
We have lots of poison ivy and it will give you the same rash as poison sumac. Because we have so much of it, I do most of my serious trail trimming in the fall and winter when poison ivy is easier to spot because of its color. I don’t get rid of it, though, because the white berries in the spring are eaten by more birds than any other berry out there.
Virginia creeper is sometimes mistaken for poison ivy since it’s a climbing vine like poison ivy. The compound leaf of Virginia creeper has five leaflets (see photo). Poison ivy has three leaflets. Remember the saying, “leaves of three, let it be.”
Sand plums make a delicious, tart preserve, similar to Scandinavian lingonberry jam. They are also great as a sandplum jam or roasted. The plums are ready for picking mid-to-late July.
