 Some people think this brush stinks. I'm not one of them, but it's called skunk brush. This native shrub is found all over Wyoming, mostly on rocky ridges, but sometimes with pine trees or in grassy areas. Its species name Trilobata is descriptive of its leaves, which have three lobed leaflets. Skunk brush is kin to sumac and poison ivy and is actually in the cashew nut family. Skunk brush is considered poor livestock forage. However, deer often prefer it to other browse and flickers, grouse, turkey, and other birds feed on the fruit. Indians also ate the red fruits, either raw or cooked and sometimes boiled them for tea. A dried powder from the fruits was made into lotion to treat smallpox sores. The stems were great for making baskets and the leaves were sometimes mixed with tobacco and smoked. Plants are either male or female. The female has dense clusters of yellow-green flowers in the spring and bright red fruits that ripen in July and persist into winter. They'll grow almost in any landscape situation that is well drained. Now, you don't have to like the taste or even the smell of skunk brush to appreciate that it's a valuable Wyoming native. I'm Tom Hill from the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service.