Winged Sumac

Winged Sumac, Shining Sumac, Dwarf Sumac

Rhus copallinum

Anacardiaceae (Cashew Family)

▲ ▼ young, mature, flowering plants

▲ ▼ flowering plants

▲ ▼ fall color

▲ detail of leafy "wings" on rachis' of leaves

Location near campus: along east end of walk along north side of Lake Drummond at Close Park.

Rhus copallinum L.; Dwarf Sumac, Shining Sumac, Winged Sumac: (Bayer Code: RHUCO; US Code RHCO)

Similar to smooth sumac, but usually shorter-growing, with shiny leaves and leafy wing on rachis of leaves
Leaves are deciduous alternate, pinnately compound with 9-21 leaflets with a leafy wing between leaflets along the main rachis (midvein stem) of the leaf
Leaf is 6-12 inches long, each leaflet is 1.5 to 4 inches long and 1-2 inches wide with smooth to slightly toothed margins
Leaves are shiny dark green above, and lighter green to white-waxy colored below
Fall color is brilliant orange, red-orange or red
Stems are stout (thick), angled, reddish,, with some hairs and U-shaped leaf scars; stems are aromatic when broken
Bark is grayish, lightly fissured or plated on older stems
Fruit is attractive in terminal clusters of crimson-red fuzzy drupes
Grows 20-30 feet tall (often shorter in Missouri) with flattish crown
Can spread by root suckers/sprouts to form a large colony, with fast growth from new sprouts and slower growth on existing stems
Prefers full sun and well-drained soils to dry soils; does not tolerate wet soils
Native to southwest Missouri
Similar to smooth sumac, but shining sumac is usually shorter-growing, with shiny leaves and leafy wings on rachis of leaves

(Updated January 15, 2019)