African Sumac --Rhus lancea. Some trees are valuable, not for one spectacular characteristic, but because they are so utterly reliable doing the mundane job we expect of them.

African sumac is considered somewhere between mesic and xeric in its water use. It’s not a true desert tree, but it can handle both a desert landscape and non-desert as well.

So much for working from home. Sitting in my backyard and writing last week, I was seduced by a pretty tree waving at me in the breeze. It was an African sumac, and I pointed to that species in ...

African sumac is a little better, but it also has problems including leaf drop during summer heat and seedlings invading the landscape if you plant a female tree. You are much better off in the ...