Summary
Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) is a fast growing, upright, colonizing shrub or small tree. While compact in youth, it matures to an open and irregular habit reaching 20’ tall and easily as wide due to its suckering habit. It grows best in full sun to part shade in dry to moist soils, though it is intolerant of poorly draining soils.
The showy, lustrous dark green foliage is pinnately compound, up to 1’ long, and each leaf has a distinctive winged midrib. The foliage backdrops the dense, 4-8” long, terminal, pyramidal panicles of greenish-yellow flowers that bloom from July into August. Winged sumac is dioecious (meaning separate male and female plants), so only pollinated female flowers will develop into the ornamental reddish, fuzzy, berry-like fruits. The fruit panicles persist through winter, providing food for game, songbirds, and small mammals. Autumn foliage impresses in a range of colors from vivid red orange to scarlet or rich burgundy.
Winged sumac provides shelter, nectar and pollen for bees, wasps, and flies, and the foliage is food source for the Luna moth and Red-banded Hairstreak butterfly caterpillars. Its high wildlife value makes it an easy choice for the pollinator or wildlife garden. The size and habit of winged sumac lends itself to the larger landscape for naturalizing where it can spread and form colonies, or as a mass planting for erosion control in a difficult site with poor soil. Synonymous with Rhus copallina. Zones 4-9.
More Details
- Plant Type
shrub, small-tree - Sun/Shade Conditions
part-shade, sun - Foliage Character
deciduous - Soil Moisture
dry-to-moist - Flowering Period
late-summer - Soil PH
adaptable - Flower Color
greenish-yellow - Summer Foliage Color
green - Fall Foliage Color
burgundy, maroon, orange, red - Fruit/Seed Color
red