Smooth Sumac
Rhus glabra
Photographed by Mike Plagens along Sycamore Creek in the Pine Mountain Wilderness, Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA. 07 June 2009.
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LEAVES: Large, pinnately compound leaves have 11 to 19 leaflets, are
alternate on the stems, are smooth and rather shiny, and have margins with
small serrations. In autumn the leaves change bright red before dropping off
for the winter.
SHRUB: A shrub with one or a few main stems reaching mostly 1 to
3 m tall. Typically many plants grow together forming a
thicket. The stems and twigs are smooth, free of pubescence.
FLOWERS: Large panicles of many small cream-yellow flowers. Blooming
late spring into summer.
RANGE: Smooth Sumac occurs in Arizona's sycamore woodlands mostly at
elevations above 1200 m elevation. In can also be found along drainages and in
moister, shady spots in ponderosa woodlands. This plant is otherwise widely
distributed across North America.
FRUIT: An elyptic berry with thin flesh over a single hard seed.
Ripening to deep red by late summer.
UNARMED. No spines or thorns.
Anacardiaceae -- Sumac Family
More Information:
- Missouri Plants
- USDA Plant Profile
- ITIS Taxonomic Report
- Google Images
- Google Scholar Literature Search