Shrub or small tree to 6 m tall

Leaves: alternate, pinnately compound, hairy-stalked, 15 - 30 cm long, winged between the seven to 23 leaflets.

Flowers: either male or female, found on separate plants (dioecious), greenish yellow, borne on a dense branched inflorescence (panicle) 10 - 20 cm long and 7.5 - 10 cm wide.

Fruit: fleshy with a center stone (drupe), red, 4 - 5 mm long, slightly flattened, sparsely hairy.

Twigs: hairy when young, with U-shaped leafscars.

Buds: reddish brown and hairy.

Leaflets: shiny dark green above, 3 - 9 cm long, 1 - 2 cm wide, oblong to lance-shaped with a pointed tip and unequally-sided (oblique) base, non-toothed or with few teeth near the tip, usually hairy beneath. Fall color is excellent red.

Form: dense and compact when young, becoming more open and irregular with age, having crooked and spreading branches.

Similar species: Rhus copallina var. latifolia differs from Rhus copallina var. copallina because it usually only has five to thirteen leaflets that are wider (1.4 - 4 cm) and broadly oblong to narrow egg-shaped.

Flowering: late July to late August

Habitat and ecology: Sandy fields or open, sandy black oak savannas.

Occurence in the Chicago region: native

Etymology: Rhus is the Greek name for a species of sumac. Copallina means resinous.

Author: The Morton Arboretum

Shrub or small tree to 6 m tall

Leaves: alternate, pinnately compound, hairy-stalked, 15 - 30 cm long, winged between the five to thirteen leaflets.

Flowers: either male or female, found on separate plants (dioecious), greenish yellow, borne on a dense branched inflorescence (panicle) 10 - 20 cm long and 7.5 - 10 cm wide.

Fruit: fleshy with a center stone (drupe), red, 4 - 5 mm long, slightly flattened, sparsely hairy.

Twigs: hairy when young, with U-shaped leafscars.

Buds: reddish brown and hairy.

Leaflets: shiny dark green above, 3 - 9 cm long, 1.5 - 4 cm wide, broadly oblong to narrow egg-shaped with a pointed tip and unequally-sided (oblique) base, non-toothed or with few teeth near the tip, usually hairy beneath. Fall color is excellent red.

Form: dense and compact when young, becoming more open and irregualr with age, having crooked and spreading branches.

Similar species: Rhus copallina var. copallina varies from Rhus copallina var. latifolia because if has up to 23 leaflets that are narrow (1 - 2 cm wide) and oblong to lance-shaped.

Flowering: late July to late August

Habitat and ecology: Sandy fields or open, sandy black oak savannas.

Occurence in the Chicago region: native

Etymology: Rhus is the Greek name for a species of sumac. Copallina means resinous. Latifolia means broad-leaved.

Author: The Morton Arboretum