Desire for Raspberries (maybe not...)

I went hiking behind the dorms right by the Saranac Lake on a quest to find a unique plant. The scenery is so beautiful. The sound of the river in the background is such a relaxing escape from the stress of school. It calmed my troubled soul as I noticed the different plant life in the area. There was all kinds of wildlife like squirrels, bugs, and plants. Yet, some were too hidden in the depths of the trees above for me see. I eventually came across a plant that reminded me of raspberries. I was wondering if it was a fruit, but with closer inspection, I noticed it was more of a plant. The shrub definitely caught my attention. I wanted to know more about this special plant. Yet, I knew nothing about it.

I frantically searched the internet looking for more information about my plant. I put in keywords like maroon, burgundy, fuzzy, northeastern, New York, red, raspberry, whatever I could think. The search results were usually nothing close to what I was looking for. People even came up. I could never understand that. After an hour or two of hopeless searching, I gave up and decided to ask my professor. He told me it would be best to ask a biology professor which was exactly what I did.

My quest to discover more about my plant was now over. I showed forest ecologist Kent Adams a picture the plant and he was able to tell me what it was. The plant is called a Staghorn Sumac (Rhus hirta). It's from the Anacardiaceae family. I wonder if this plant has anything to do with the heart? (Anacardiaceae) This plant is actually used for tea, pink lemonade, and for tan hides. Native Americans used the leaves and fruits for black ink and the dried leaves for smoking mixtures. It makes me curious as to if they use this same plant in the hookah lounge here in Plattsburgh.

The Staghorn lives along hardwood forest edges, dry uplands and old fields. It grows from 15 to 30 feet. It can be seen in various states of the United States. This plant blooms in different colors of red, yellow and green. The leaf color is green on the top and pale on the bottom. It's colors show more during the fall and its twigs appear more like antlers during the winter. For more fun facts about this plant, go here. Hopefully, you'll enjoy discovering more about this plant as much as I did.