staghorn sumac sapling

Rock circuit trail, Middlesex Fells, October 2012

Staghorn Sumac, Rhus typhina, is a fast-breeding shrub that rapidly colonizes disturbed ground and is ubiquitous along the sides of highways in New England. (It propagates both by seed - in bird droppings - and from rhizomes.) It tolerates rocky ground with thin, poor soil, so it can be found on fells, crags, and smaller summits throughout New England.