Flameleaf or Shining Sumac occurs in every state from the Rocky Mountains east along roads, woods edges, and fields. It is a pioneer species invading open or disturbed areas before other woody plants come in. And in the fall, its foliage color is beyond compare - flaming scarlet, orange, and sometimes burgundy. This semi-woody shrub forms open colonies via root suckering and the colonies are 7 to 15 feet tall and 10 to 20 feet wide, tallest in the center, gradually shorter at the edges. The leaves are 18 inches long or so, with opposite leaflets, shiny green in the summer, then blazing scarlet in fall, before dropping off for the winter. Female plants have 12-inch clusters of mid-summer greenish flowers that bear showy, fuzzy maroon fruits in the fall that are loved by wildlife. Male plants have dark maroon flower clusters. This plant is very coarse in texture and it can grow quite quickly, but in the right place, it can be absolutely stunning. It can be pruned to be a tree or its root suckers can be regularly mowed off. It can be used to stabilize a bank and for erosion control. When massed, it can be spectacular. It needs full sun and dryish soil. (Sunlight Gardens)

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The Shiny or Flameleaf or Winged Sumac grows in dry or average upland soils and is common in most of the Delmarva Peninsula. and I see it in scattered locations in southeast Pennsylvania. It native range is from southern Maine down to southern Florida to east Texas up eastern Oklahoma & Kansas, most of Missouri to central Wisconsin to northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan. It grows fast of 2 to 4 feet/year. It forms a little colony that keeps sending up stems when old ones die that usually live 15 to 25 years. It compound leaves are 6 to 12 inches long with 9 to 21 leaflets that are shiny and dark green turning an excellent red in autumn, and the middle leaf stem (rachis) holding the leaflets is winged. It bears showy terminal flower spikes to 8 inches long in July. It then bears red berries in the spikes on female plants that are loved by birds. A very few large, diverse nurseries may sell this and some native plant nurseries. Landscape designers probably use this in some parks, campuses, and public sites. The cultivar of 'Morton' is most likely the one used in professional landscapes.

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Winged Sumac is a fast growing deciduous shrub, or small tree that can attain heights of 20 feet. Leaves appear alternately along pubescent (soft, hairy) stems. Clusters of showy flowers appear in spring, summer and sometimes fall and the fruits/drupes appear from autumn through most of the winter, even after the leaves have fallen. Winged Sumac spreads by seed or underground runners/rhizomes as well as seeds being dispersed by birds and other animals. The plant usually grows in full sun and is extremely drought tolerant.

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