At some point during the mid-grass stage, bird-dropped sumac seeds will take hold. The two Western Cross Timbers sumacs, Rhus copallinum and R. lanceolata, are both known as flame-leaf, or just “shoe-make.” The name sumac causes easterners to cringe because of the cedar-like behavior of the smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, that grows in rich, rain-blessed eastern prairies. There is also an eastern variety called poison sumac, a swamp-dweller that is often compared to poison ivy. The sumac of the Western Cross Timbers is not toxic; Comanches used the fall red leaf (temaichia) in a tobacco blend, and the fruit was used to make a tart, apple-like drink. There is a low bushy Fragrant sumac, Rhus aromatic, known in Erath County as skunkbush, that provided both a cooling drink and and the stems were split to make long-lasting baskets. Indigenous peoples used sumac foreshafts for compound arrows made of river cane. What is interesting about the local sumac is its role in prairie maintenance, which I’ll get to next time.