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.