This photo shows a Sumac tree ( Rhus succedanea) with a little sprout coming out its side.
If I had known it was Sumac I probably would have steered clear of the thing.
This tree was found while cave exploring in Ginoza Okinawa, Japan.
Whenever I find a sign posted on something like this and it has the scientific name, I take a photo to help me identify it later. So, I rearranged some of the vegetation growing around the place just to show you this little fella sprouting out with the bark of the tree as a backdrop.
As soon as I Googled the Latin words it brought back bad memories.
Sumac, AHHHHHHHHhhhhhh, that stuff is poison where I came from in the USA.
There are 250 kinds of Sumac. It turns out this one, native to China and Japan, is a friendly one.
The ones I used to run into were called Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac.
They'd make you want to scratch all the skin off your body.
I never want to try that again.
If you want to learn what kind of Sumac is growing where you live, drop on in at
It seems like I sent the guy twenty-five bucks last year about this time.
I like the guy alright but, who does he think I am SANTA CLAUS OR SOMETHIN' ?
