Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhus glabra
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Smooth Sumac at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhus glabra
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 110-01-008:
Rhus glabra FAMILY Anacardiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhus glabra
COMMON NAME:
Smooth Sumac, Common Sumac
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2360_r_glabra
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_215
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_rhgl_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_255
)
JK Marlow jkm0304w_25
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm110402_256
April Haywood County NC
Twigs are more than 1cm thick and glabrous, per Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee (Jones & Wofford, 2013).
)
JK Marlow jkm110402_257
April Haywood County NC
Leaf scars nearly encircle the buds, per Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee (Jones & Wofford, 2013).
COMPARE
leaf scars of Sumac and Tree-of-heaven
)
JK Marlow jkm0305za_19
May Buncombe County NC
Botanical Gardens at Asheville
In southern Appalachians, leaves sometimes rolled and smoked to treat asthma, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm0405x_33
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaflets glaucous beneath, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm060528_069
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow s040529_d
May Pickens County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0306e_23
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0306h_20
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0506g_05
June Pickens County SC
Roadside
Stem glabrous, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
stems of Sumac species
)
JK Marlow jkm200608_5797
June Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Flowers similar to Winged Sumac except the panicles are usually larger, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0107d_07a
July Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm160717_352
July Greenville County SC
Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
A shrub or small tree to 8m tall sometimes forming colonies of root sprouts, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_rhus_glabra
August
)
JK Marlow jkm0210m_22
October Henderson County NC
Roadside
Terminal clusters of yellowish flowers form dense clumps of dark red fruit, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm0310f_18
October Henderson County NC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0510e_01
October Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves with 15-19 sessile, serrate leaflets. Rachis not winged, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
leaves of Sumac and Tree-of-heaven
)
JK Marlow jkm201027_7982
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm0311c_22
November Jackson County NC
Roadside
Almost looks like a peppermint stick...
)
JK Marlow jkm0411h_21
November Pickens County SC
Roadside
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhus glabra
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhus glabra
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 110-01-008:
Rhus glabra
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhus glabra
1237
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, clearings, roadsides, woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in NC Coastal Plain, rare in GA & SC Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 15-19 leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish-yellow/White
4-5 sepals
4-5 petals
4-5 stamens
Usually bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p376
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p071
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p315
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p078
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p390
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p521
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p164
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p086
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p066
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p320
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p71
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p299
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p080
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p141
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p022
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p166
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p09
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p306
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p292
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p139
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