Smoke Tree or Smoke Bush
Cotinus Obovatus
The American Smoketree is native to the
Southeastern United
States,
from
Tennessee
south to Alabama
and west to eastern Texas.
The photos in
this site are taken in Southern Ontario
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American
Smoketree Smoke Tree Smoke Bush cotinus obovatus
Mature flower
panicles resemble puffs of smoke giving the Smoke Tree it's
name. |
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Smoke Tree or Smoke Bush burst of smoke |
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This is my old smoke tree,
pretty mature now, in fact several main sections are all dried out and need to
be cut out. |
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It's a beautiful tree
most of the growing seasons, starting out green and unambiguous in the spring
then bursting into "smoke" which can last about two months into the summer.
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Royal Purple Smoke Bush SmokeTree
or Smokebush |
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Fall leaves of
Smoke Tree or Smoke Bush |
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The
fall brings brilliant orange, red and purple leaves
which usually last until after all the other trees
have dropped their leaves.
I liked my old smoke tree so much I went out and got a couple other varieties. |
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The Royal Purple is my favorite, then Cotinus Grace,
both a little more
colorful than my original tree.
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Cotinus Grace Cotinus Obovatus SmokeTree or Smokebush smoke tree smoke bush |
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SmokeTree panicles of flowers
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Smoketree or Smoke bush is a
genus of two species of flowering plants closely related
to the sumacs. They are large shrubs or small
trees, native to the warm temperate Northern Hemisphere. The leaves are simple oval shape-
nearly round up
to 4 inches long.
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SmokeTree
Flower Panicle |
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SmokeTree
Flower Panicle |
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Often classified in Rhus in
the past, they are distinguished by the leaves being simple (not pinnate) and
the 'smoke-like' fluffy flower heads. |
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The flowers are clustered in a
large open terminal panicles sometimes over a foot long with a fluffy appearance
resembling a cloud of smoke over the plant, from which the name derives.
The fruit is a small drupe with a
single seed. |
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