Ken, the staghorn sumac has the red flower cones, yup. when I was harvesting the cones a couple of weeks ago, the cones were very damp, not even slightly dry. They might have been dry before the wet winter set in though. I was surprised at the feel of the branches of the tree, I had not touched the sumac before, only marvelled at the beauty of the leaves in the fall. The branches had a very silky feel to the touch, it was very nice to feel.
I don't know why I recall something about this. My father was a hunter and brought home deer he had shot. I think that I remember the antlers of the deer (or maybe the base, can't quite remember) having kind of a fuzzy feeling. Does anyone know if this memory is correct? Maybe that is why the sumac is called staghorn? Don't know.
I also remember when the deer was hanging in the shed, its nose was all covered in tics. It grossed me out completely, this I remember clear as the day I saw that. Maybe all the tics went to the nose cause the body blood drained that way. That I don't know either. Anyone know?
Poison sumac, I have not a clue. Best of a beautiful day. Cindi
