Sumac Light

Standing under or near certain trees this time of year bathes you in the color of their leaves. They make the space around them glow. I think of Honey Locusts, with their hundreds of thousands of tiny yellow leaflets mellowing the air, and Sumacs, with this brilliant red magic-hour light all day long (as long as the sun is out!). Brooklyn Bridge Park has a couple of species of Sumac, genus Rhus, and they are lush with color now. This one is Shining, R.copallina: you can tell from the little wings between the leaflets.Staghorn Sumac, R. typhina, so called for its fuzzy branches, which are like a stag’s velvet, the skin covering new antlers.Shining Sumac fruit cluster.