Shrub or small tree to 6 m tall Leaves: alternate, pinnately compound, hairy-stalked, 15 - 30 cm long, winged between the five 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 - 4 cm wide, oblong to lance-shaped or 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 irregular with age, having crooked and spreading branches.
Similar species: Rhus copallina is represented by two varieties in the Chicago Region. See links below for further information. The other Rhus species with pinnately compound leaves and Toxicodendron vernix lack a winged stalk between the leaflets.
Flowering: late June to late August
Habitat and ecology: Occasional to rare in open, sandy black oak savannas, woods, or sandy fields.
Occurence in the Chicago region: native
Notes: This sumac's beautiful, shiny leaves and fall color make it desirable for ornamental planting. It is often planted on dry, rocky soils, along banks, and used for naturalizing.
Etymology: Rhus is the Greek name for a species of sumac. Copallina means resinous.
Shrub or small tree to 6 m; young twigs, petioles, and lf-rachis closely hairy; lfls 7-21, shining above, firm, oblong to lanceolate, 3-8 cm, inequilateral, entire or with a few teeth along the distal margin; lf-rachis winged, the wings 1-5 mm wide, interrupted at the base of each pair of lfls; infl to 15 cm; fr 4-5 mm, somewhat flattened, red, pilose with simple hairs and also beset with minute ovoid hairs. Open, dry places; s. Me. to Fla., w. to Ind., s. Ill., se. Neb., and Tex., and irregularly to Mich., Wis., and s. Io. June, July.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.