Rhus typhina
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- RHOOS ty-FEE-nah
- Description
-
Grows up to 25'. Medium green leaves turn red, yellow, orange, scarlet, and red velvet in fall. You can rejuvenate it by cutting to the ground every few years. It is not poisonous though it can be weedy spreading by suckers to form colonies. It naturally occurs in the western part of North Carolina. It is drought tolerant. Its showy white blooms appear in the spring and summer and are followed by equally showy red berries. It is particularly noted for the reddish-brown hairs that cover the young branchlets in somewhat the same way that velvet covers the horns of a stag (male deer). Easily grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of a wide range of soils except for those that are poorly drained. Generally tolerant of urban conditions. This is a suckering shrub that will form thickets in the wild via self-seeding and root suckering. It is native to woodland edges, roadsides, railroad embankments and stream/swamp margins from Quebec to Ontario to Minnesota south to Georgia, Indiana and Iowa.
Other Plant Problems: May spread aggressively through root suckers.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Dissecta'
- 'Laciniata'
- 'Lancinata'
- 'Tiger Eyes'
- 'Dissecta'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Dissecta'
- 'Laciniata'
- 'Lancinata'
- 'Tiger Eyes'
- 'Dissecta'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Rhus
- Species:
- typhina
- Family:
- Anacardiaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern North America
- Wildlife Value:
- Ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail, and wild turkey eat the fruit. Flowers provide a nectar source to native bees.
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Drought
- Dimensions:
- Height: 15 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 20 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.
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-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Shrub
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Open
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Texture:
- Medium
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Available Space To Plant:
- Less than 12 inches
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Winter
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Description:
- Good winter interest; each cluster contains hairy, berry-like drupes that ripen bright red and turn dark red thorough winter.
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Size:
- 3-6 inches
- Flower Description:
- 4 to 8 in. panicles of greenish white flowers in late spring early summer.
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-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Orange
- Red/Burgundy
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Alternate pinnately compound 16"-24" leaves with 11-31 lanceolate leaflets (2-5" long); serrate margins. Great fall color.
-
-
Bark:
- Bark Description:
- Fuzzy turning gray-brown and smooth with lenticels and becoming scaly.
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Lenticels:
- Conspicuous
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Noted for the reddish-brown hairs that cover the young branchlets
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-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Winter Garden
- Attracts:
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Erosion
- Rabbits
- Urban Conditions
- Problems:
- Weedy
