A Year in the Valley

We had one of these in the top garden which wasn’t really flourishing but sending up suckers in the lawn.  Now we have one growing on the bank and it seems to be doing quite well.  Because the bank slopes up from the watermeadow, it is drier and because we leave it wild, it seems to attract ‘garden escapees’, as well as grass, ferns, and brambles.  We knew this as Tree of Heaven, but I now discover that its common name is actually Staghorn Sumac, so-called because of the velvety coating of the branches and crimson fruit clusters.  In the autumn the foliage turns to flame with vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow.  They are usually found near gardens or cultivated land, escaping by means of suckers which can extend a long way from the tree.  Staghorn sumac originates from North America but has been growing in the UK since the seventeenth century.