Skunkbush Sumac - Rhus trilobata

Woohoo, after a many-year break, this blog is going again. With the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic, it's time to #ExploreYourBackyard. So instead of the far-flung trips I had planned, I'm learning my backyard and nearby areas super well. 

That includes documenting what plants are flowering. (Check out the Snake Valley Trails Partnership Facebook Page for some recent finds.)

The yellow on this bush called my attention on a recent walk on the Sagebrush Discovery Trail. I went over and took a look. All I saw were tiny flowers in clusters at the ends of the twigs. No leaves. But I remembered something about where these bushes were. This had to be Skunkbush Sumac (Rhus trilobata), the bush that has bright red berries and the leaves turn beautiful colors in the fall! 


It's in the Sumac or Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae), the same family as poison ivy. Fortunately, the bush doesn't (usually) lead to a rash. You can see the lobed, compound leaves (in threes, just like poison ivy).


The leaves are gorgeous in the fall.

For more info on skunkbush sumac, check out this cool Utah State University Extension publication.

Western Poison Ivy-Toxicodendron rydbergii

Just seeing this plant makes me itch. It's western poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii), just as toxic as eastern poison ivy which I've had the misfortune of coming in close contact with several times. Toxicodendron is Greek for poison tree. I always learned the saying "Leaves of Three, Let them Be" to warn me away from poison ivy. It grows in moist places, yep, those kind of places that you want to take a rest break in after hiking in the hot desert.


The flowers are small and white. Later white berries appear. The western poison ivy doesn't grow as a vine like the eastern species, but stays as a shrub or subshrub. It's often only a foot or two high, but can grow up to ten feet high. In addition to growing in western North America, it's also found in the Midwest and eastern states and in several Canadian provinces.

This is one plant worth knowing. Of course, once you come in contact with it, you might not forget it for awhile, as the oils can cause itchy rashes that last a week or more.

For more information about western poison ivy, click here.