Sugar Bush
Rhus ovata
A rounded, glossy-leaved evergreen of chaparral and desert foothills with pinkish flower buds and tart reddish fruit once used for a sweet drink. A tough, fire-resistant screen.
- Family
- Anacardiaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 12–12 ft
- Spacing
- 8–15 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- March, April, May
- Bloom colors
- white, pink
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, mammals
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~58 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen, hedge or screen
- Native states
- AZ, CA
Related native plants
More Rhus species
- Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
- Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum)
- Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra)
- Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica)
- Evergreen Sumac (Rhus virens)
- Skunkbush Sumac (Rhus trilobata)