Primarily Rhus typhina, but also including Rhus copallinum and Rhus hirta, of the family Anacardiaceae
my samples: NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting --- colors will vary under other lighting conditions
colors, although varied, are accurate throughout
staghorn sumac changes color very little to none over time IF a UV blocking finish is used AND it is kept out of direct sunglight. Here's a pic of a bowl section that I took 5 years ago and then the same bowl 5 minutes ago after sitting out in indirect sunlight for 5 years. The wood to the left of it is mulberry and you can see how it has (typically) gone from yellow to brown. The more recent pic was taken in a slightly brighter light.
There are further examples down below of color change and it is VERY noticeable when a piece was exposed to direct sunlight for a couple of hours a day for a couple of months.
sample plank and end grain sold to me as staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The yellow tint in the pics of this piece is WAY too much.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The pics of this sample all have a slight red tint that is not in the wood.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of quartersawn staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac. This was cut from one of the larger planks on this page so that I could do an end grain update. HUGE enlargements are present.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac. This was cut from one of the larger planks on this page so that I could do an end grain update. HUGE enlargements are present.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a plank of staghorn sumac. The heavy green tint is correct.
set of planks and a closeup
closeup of the piece directly above
staghorn sumac planks and closeup
3 staghorn sumac planks
I was told, and have read, that staghorn sumac glows in black light so I checked it out and sure enough ... here's a pic of the plank directly above but taken in black light. If you look closely, especially in the enlargements, you'll also see that the bright white line of sapwood turns bright blue in the black light, but that seems to be common (the white sheet under the wood also turned bright blue ... you can see a little of it in the lower right edge of the pic)
closeup from the 3-plank pic directly above
plank and closeup --- this was cut from one of the larger planks above and then sanded for the pics.
end grain closeup of the piece direclty above
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks and a closeup --- I specifically chose to put the orange colored plank in with some others to show the color variation, which is correctly represented here. BUT ... when I sanded this plank, I found that the orange was only a skin deep patina and sanded right off.
both sides of a small staghorn sumac plank sanded down for the pics
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
small plank of staghorn sumac with a pith area that I scooped out, pretty much with my fingernail --- the pith on this species is totally punky.
staghorn sumac cant contributed to the site by Mark Peet. This piece is unseasoned so I have to rip it into planks and then seal the ends. I'll get final pics next year after it dries.
the side pieces that I bandsawed off of the log to get the cant directly above
one of the cutoff planks from the cant above after the second side had been exposed to very strong indirect sunlight for a couple of hours a day for several months. As you can see in comparing this to the 4 pieces directly above, even the side that was only exposed to extremely weak indirect sunlight for the same period has started to darken.
a couple of staghorn sumac pen blanks and an end grain closeup of the pair
the following 3 samples were loaned to me by Mark Peet, specifically because of the WEIRDLY jaggy
nature of the face grain, which is caused by indentations in the growth rings. Neither Mark nor I
(nor anyone on the Wood Barter forum) have ever seen anything like this is staghorn sumac.
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina, also listed as Virgina sumac) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views
web pics:
staghorn sumac flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
plank listed as staghorn sumac / Rhus typhina
I mentioned on a wood formum that staghorn sumac fluoresces brightly under UV so one of the members got out his own stash and checked it out.
staghorn sumac logs
staghorn sumac bowl blanks
staghorn sumac with very accurate color
staghorn sumac pen blanks
staghorn sumac log and bowl blank
both sides of a plank of staghorn sumac --- I bought this piece and you can see up with the pics of my own samples at the top of this page. The pics here have just a little too much red and not enough green
staghorn sumac planks all from the same vendor --- I'm confident these pics do not show as much green as is actually in the wood and that they have a little too much red tint. These are all from the same vendor as the ones just above here marked "very accurate color". The dealer is honest, just not too interested in color-correct images.
turning stock
crotch slab pair
staghorn sumac turning submitted by Sean Winger --- I doubt the color but I can't remember if Sean commented on it or not.
earrings by Dean Robertson, made from some staghorn sumac that I sent him in a trade (these have a finishing agent on them)
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