{"id":4314,"date":"2016-01-12T10:22:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T15:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/?p=4314"},"modified":"2016-01-11T10:23:05","modified_gmt":"2016-01-11T15:23:05","slug":"what-eats-staghorn-sumac-seeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/what-eats-staghorn-sumac-seeds\/","title":{"rendered":"What Eats Staghorn Sumac Seeds?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the winter settles in, the colours in the landscape get muted and any vibrant hues are especially welcome. A male Cardinal can be startling when it lands on a snowy bush. And the bright red seed clusters of Sumac cheer up gloomy roadsides. As I prowl around I notice that the Staghorn Sumac provides more than just a spirit-lift: it provides food for winter birds.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Do Staghorn Sumac Shrubs Have Seeds or Berries or What?<\/h2>\n

I realized when I began to write this article that I don\u2019t really know what the fruit of the Staghorn Sumac shrub is called. I\u2019m willing to bet they aren\u2019t nuts or acorns but are they berries, seeds, drupes, arils or what?<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the US Department of Agriculture website<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0 each of those little red fuzzy nubs is called a drupe. Each drupe contains one seed but the entire red \u201cspear-point\u201d of drupes has up to 700 seeds.<\/p>\n

I seemed to remember another common edible fruit is technically a drupe. Yep. Peaches, plums and cherries are drupes. Any obvious similarities to sumac seeds escape me.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

A further check said a drupe has only one seed. (So raspberries are not drupes.) That seed is covered by a \u201chard endocarp\u201d like the stone of the cherry. The hard part is covered by a mesocarp that is often softer, like the fruit part we eat of a peach. The outer layer is the exocarp often called the skin. For most peaches, the exocarp is fuzzy just like the exocarp of a Staghorn Sumac drupe.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m going to have to remember to pick a few sumac fruit the next time I\u2019m out so I can \u201cdissect\u201d them at home and see if they really have three layers. The trouble I bring on myself by getting curious is almost endless.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

What Other Birds Will Munch on Sumac Drupes?<\/h2>\n

According to the Canadian Wildlife Federation website<\/strong><\/a> there are some other interesting birds that eat Sumac drupes. Evening Grosbeaks and Ruffed Grouse will eat the fruit. Cardinals too.<\/p>\n

The USDA site says that sharp-tailed grouse, bobwhite quail and wild turkeys will eat sumac fruit. They estimate 300 species of songbirds eat it too!<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Furry creatures including White-tailed Deer have been known to eat the fruit as well as the stems and bark.<\/p>\n

Would You Eat Staghorn Sumac Drupes or Make Tea from Them?<\/h2>\n

While looking into the \u201cdrupe\u201d thing, I discovered a staggering (to me) number of websites discussing how humans can use and consume the fruit from Staghorn Sumac shrubs. A common use seems to be to brew tea from the ripe red fruit.<\/p>\n

Have these people ever LOOKED closely at those plants? In summertime the flowers and fruit are seething with tiny life forms. There are insects, ants, spiders, and other critters all over those spikes. Now I know we\u2019re supposed to eat lower on the food chain and so on, but seriously, a cup of spider-dropping tea? Stewed aphids? I\u2019m not convinced!<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

My personal suggestion is leave the drupes for the birds. They need their vitamin C too and they usually love a good insect bonus.<\/p>\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n