A different look at flameleaf sumac
Click for greater clarity and size.
As late in 2013 as December 17th I found a flameleaf sumac, that was turning warm colors. I’ve photographed Rhus lanceolata many times, but I still always look for different ways to portray it; this orb-bedecked picture was one. The location was the right-of-way beneath the power lines to the west of Morado Circle in my Great Hills neighborhood in Austin.
© 2014 Steven Schwartzman
I love your adventures and sharing your treasured finds with us blog viewers! Thank You.
Cathy Testaat
January 31, 2014 at 6:16 AM
You’re welcome, Cathy. It’s good to hear that you enjoy these treasured finds. I wonder what trove the spring will provide.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 6:33 AM
It looks like a bronze sculpture.
camdenstables
January 31, 2014 at 8:38 AM
I never thought of that, but now that you say it I can see it.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 1:16 PM
Nice curve. Is it due to the high levels of EM radiation there?
Jim in IA
January 31, 2014 at 8:41 AM
I’m fond of the curve, but I don’t what caused the leaflet to curve that way.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 1:20 PM
As much as I like the gentle curves of the sumac leaf and its lovely bronze tone and as much as bokeh is generally not one of my favorite effects, it is the bokeh here that really makes the image for me, Steve.
Steve Gingold
January 31, 2014 at 8:59 AM
That’s what made this picture different from any of the others I’d been taking of this species for years.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 1:21 PM
What an extraordinary shape. Sometimes focusing on the macro instead of the micro can make me miss on so many details, such as leaves with their shapes. It is also an additional subject, quite often overlooked because the flower is what everyone wants to see.
Tropical Flowering Zone/Maria
January 31, 2014 at 11:09 AM
As you’ve seen, I do my share of flowers, too. Flowers in the sumac family are small (though numerous) and not all that photogenic, so I’ve concentrated mostly on the leaves. With Rhus lanceolata, the leaves comes with the bonus of bright colors, at least near the end of the year.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 1:27 PM
Such vibrant warm colors so welcome, with ours another gray day.
naturesnippets
January 31, 2014 at 12:19 PM
Flameleaf sumac is the best source of colorful fall foliage that we have in central Texas, and some of the leaves hang around till mid-December. If this view helps dispel the gray of your day, so much the better.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 1:33 PM
our sumac leaves don’t last long.
naturesnippets
January 31, 2014 at 2:40 PM
A flameleaf sumac may stay colorful for a week, but the good thing is that not all the trees change at the same time, so the color gets spread out over our region for a couple of months.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 4:07 PM
Very stylish and almost monochromatic, Steve.
It must be said: I am a sucker for sumac. While everyone else is busily bulldozing this lovely plant into oblivion, I am cultivating it and eating the seeds! I tasted some I dried recently, and was surprised at the sweet tang of the outer husk!
Lynda
January 31, 2014 at 6:44 PM
Your alliterative phrase has a nice rhythm to it, Lynda: a sucker for sumac. (That could also be what my initials stand for.) I’ve never eaten sumac fruit per se, but I’ve had sumac-ade made from it, and it had a pleasant tang that was offset by some added sugar. It’s always nice when we can eat some of our native plants.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 7:42 PM
I don’t remember seeing a leaf that seems so solid. It appears to be made of wax, or leather. Its heft is nicely complemented by the weightlessness of the background – beautiful.
shoreacres
January 31, 2014 at 9:21 PM
Maybe the bronze look that a couple of people mentioned, or the waxy, leathery look that you cited, gives you the feeling of solidity. The reality is otherwise, and at this late stage it doesn’t take much for a leaflet to get knocked off its stalk. Notice how this leaflet is the sole survivor along its section of stalk.
Steve Schwartzman
January 31, 2014 at 10:17 PM
lovely shot.
sedge808
January 31, 2014 at 10:47 PM
Made more so for me by its novelty
Steve Schwartzman
February 1, 2014 at 7:02 AM
L’on dirait vraiment que la feuille a posé pour toi toute en élégance. Les couleurs chaudes des feuilles de Sumac sont fantastiques. Merci Steve
chatou11
February 1, 2014 at 4:37 AM
Je suis content que tu les trouves élégantes, Chantal.
Steve Schwartzman
February 1, 2014 at 7:08 AM
Gorgeous detail and bokeh
norasphotos4u
February 1, 2014 at 8:02 PM
I couldn’t have done it without my 100mm macro lens.
Steve Schwartzman
February 1, 2014 at 8:18 PM
So graceful.
kathryningrid
February 2, 2014 at 10:20 PM
Gracias.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2014 at 10:25 PM
Looking back over my reader I discovered that I had forgotten to comment on this one Steve. I looked at it in haste when you first posted it and made a mental note to return …. but, perhaps you know how that goes! I really appreciated the composition on this one, and the colors too. The curve of the stem mirrors the curve of the leaf … and that little contrary curve of the leaf tip really does it for me. Nice complementing background as well. Another Schwartzman winner. D
Pairodox Farm
February 3, 2014 at 6:32 PM
Thanks for the thoughtful analysis, Dave. Your observations about curves resonate with this former math teacher. If this picture came up in a calculus class, it would give me the chance to talk about the opposite concavities of the two ends of the leaflet.
Steve Schwartzman
February 3, 2014 at 7:58 PM
Areas under curves … gotta love it. D
Pairodox Farm
February 4, 2014 at 4:37 AM