Smooth Sumac

This fast-growing, colony-forming, deciduous shrub usually grows 3 to 10 feet tall with a single trunk and several leafy branches, its foliage turning a stunning bright red in early fall. It has male and female plants, individual plants producing either all male or female flowers, blooming late spring to mid-summer. On female shrubs the yellowish flowers are replaced by bunches of dark red berries that mature during the autumn and persist into winter. This plant can grow in full sun to shade, and in most dry soils, including sandy, loam, and clay.