Sunday, January 8, 2012

Why a Picture


Rhus copallinum, (Dwarf Sumac, Winged Sumac, Flameleaf Sumac)

For me at least, a picture is always a handy first step when trying to ID a plant. If I had any drawing skills and a whole lot more patience, probably sitting before a plant and sketching it would be even better than taking a photograph. I knew that I was looking at some kind of Sumac when I snapped the picture above down at Floyd Bennett this fall, but I did not know that the "wings" I was looking at on the leafstem were the key to identifying which Sumac. And it was easy as pie to identify it when I got home and looked at the picture I'd taken alongside the drawing for this plant in a Peterson's Field Guide to Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants.


2 comments:

sbs said...

you should enter the best photos from a phone contest. Lovely entry.

Sweetgum Thursday said...

had no idea there was such a thing..so sick of the phonephotos though..hope you have some pics from Staten Island Botanic to show me!