Cotinus obovatus
American Smoketree, Chittamwood
Anacardiaceae
ExpandHabitat
- native to southeastern United States
- hardy to zone 4
Habit and Form
- a deciduous small tree or large shrub
- upright, oval habit
- 20' to 30' tall
- width can equal height
- medium texture
- medium growth rate
Summer Foliage
- alternate leaf arrangement
- simple, deciduous leaves
- 2" to 5" long and half as wide
- entire leaf margin
- obovate leaf shape
- bluish green leaf color
Autumn Foliage
- yellow, orange, red to purple fall color
- showy
Flowers
- dioecious
- 6" to 10" long panicles
- green to greenish-white color
- blooms early spring
Fruit
- small and not ornamentally important
Bark
- gray-brown bark color
- flaky bark
- attractive
Culture
- easily transplanted and established
- full sun
- adaptable to many soils and pHs
- very tolerant of hot, dry, gravelly soils and sites
Landscape Use
- shrub border
- specimen
- small groupings
- difficult sites
- for mid and late summer "flowering" effect
Liabilities
- relatively trouble free
- Verticillium wilt
ID Features
- flaky bark
- lateral buds are small
- obovate leaves with rounded or notched tip
- long petioles
- "smokey" panicles
Propagation
- by cuttings
- by seed
Cultivars/Varieties
- none