Botanical Name: Rhus glabra
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Common Name: Smooth Sumac  
Plant photo of: Rhus glabra
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Water Saving Tip:

Replace turf with groundcovers, trees, and shrubs. If you have areas where no one uses the grass, patches that do not grow well, or a turf area too small to water without runoff, consider replacing the turf with water-efficient landscaping.

  • Anatomy

  • Culture

  • Design

Plant Type

Shrub

 

Height Range

6-12'

 

Flower Color

Yellow

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Green

 

Bark Color

Brown, Grey

 

Fruit Color

Red

 

Fruit Season

Fall, Persistent

Information by: Stephanie Duer
Photographer:
  • Description

  • Notes

Smooth sumac is a deciduous shrub with an open, irregular, spreading habit, typically growing 8 to 15 feet tall and wide (or wider). It spreads by root suckers to form thickets or large colonies. Very similar to staghorn sumac (R. typhina), except the young stems of staghorn are densely hairy whereas those of this species are smooth, hence the common name. Large, compound pinnate, shiny, dark green leaves grow with a long, fern-like appearance and turn attractive shades of bright orange to red in autumn. Tiny, yellowish-green flowers bloom in terminal panicles (5 to 10 inches long) in late spring to early summer, with separate male and female flowers appearing on separate plants. Female plants produce showy, erect, pyramidal fruiting clusters (to 8 inches long). Each cluster contains numerous hairy, berry-like drupes which ripen red in autumn, gradually turning maroon-brown as they persist through most of the winter. Fruit is attractive to wildlife. Mores a stricking architectural statement in the landscape.