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Cotinus obovatus |
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American Smoke Tree |
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Stiffly
upright, spreading, loose and open,
multi-stemmed shrub, rounded in outline. |
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10-15 feet
tall with a similar spread. |
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Plants are
dioecious
to
polygamo-dioecious. Flowers are
yellow-green changing to pinkish or purple, borne in a large
loose, terminal panicle, 6-8 inches long. The showy part of the panicle
consists of the numerous pedicels of the sterile
flowers, which lengthen after flowering and are
covered with long spreading hairs. |
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June-July |
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Leaves are
alternate, simple, entire, oval, 1-3 inches
long, bluish-green in color. |
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Fall color
is a poor yellow-orange. |
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Stems have
an orange-brown pith, emitting a strong odor
when crushed. |
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Fruit is a
small, dry, blackish drupe, ripening in September |
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-
var.
atropurpurea - Purple Smoketree - showy purplish fruit
heads
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Valued for the
smoky effects of the fruit heads |
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