POISON SUMAC
Rhus vernix L.
Growth Form: Small tree or shrub to 20 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 5 inches; crown narrowly rounded.
Bark: Gray, smooth.
Twigs: Rather stout, smooth, orange-brown to gray; leaf scars alternate, rounded except for where the bud is, with several bundle traces.
Buds: Rounded or somewhat pointed, about ¼ inch in diameter, except for the larger, terminal one, hairy, often purplish.
Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with 7-13 leaflets; leaflets elliptic to obovate, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 4 inches long, up to half as wide, dark green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and usually smooth on the lower surface, the edges without teeth. The leaves turn a brilliant scarlet in the autumn.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate sometimes borne on separate plants, sometimes on the same plant, sometimes in the same flower, numerous in much branched clusters, appearing from May to July, each flower greenish-yellow, small.
Fruit: Cluster of white or creamy berries, each berry round, smooth, shiny, up to ½ inch in diameter, containing a single yellow seed.
Wood: Soft, light in weight, coarse-grained, yellow-brown.