Tree Description:
A thicket-forming shrub, or small tree to 20 feet tall and one or more trunks to 4" in diameter, with an irregular branching habit that gives the tree a loose, rounded crown of shiny foliage -- from which it gets one of its common names.
Range/Site Description:
In East Texas, growing westward to the San Antonio river, growing in clumps at the edges of woods, fields, fencerows, or other open spaces.
Leaf:
Branches, twigs, and leaves without prickles or thorns; leaves are alternate, once-compound, 6" to 12" long, with 11 to 21 lanceolate leaflets without teeth on the margin; glossy green above, downy beneath, and turning bright red, orange, and purple in the fall. This sumac is easily distinguished from others by the winged leaf rachis.
Flower:
Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees; the tiny, pale green female flowers are borne on a compact, conical cluster, 4" to 5" long, in July.
Fruit:
A cluster of bright red, berry-like drupes, each about 0.2" in diameter and covered with short hairs. The fruits persist on the stems and are eaten by birds in late winter.
Bark:
Almost smooth, with horizontal splashes of light and dark gray, and many small lenticels; the papery outer bark cracks at irregular intervals, exposing spots of reddish-brown beneath.
Wood:
The reddish-brown wood is soft, light, and coarse-grained. Sometimes sold in nurseries as a landscape specimen for its fall color.
Similar Species:
Poison-sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) has fewer leaflets and white fruits; smooth sumac (R. glabra) has toothed leaves and a waxy bloom on the twigs.
Interesting Facts:
The bark and leaves were used in the leather tanning industry and the fruits were used by native Americans to make drinking water more palatable.
