Texas Wildbuds

Rhus copallinum var. lanceolata

(Prairie Flameleaf Sumac)

Rhus coppalinum var. lanceolata, Westminster Glen, Austin, Travis Co. 6640

Rhus coppalinum var. lanceolata, Westminster Glen, Austin, Travis Co. 6639

Rhus coppalinum var. lanceolata, Westminster Glen, Austin, Travis Co. 6641

Rhus coppalinum var. lanceolata, Westminster Glen, Austin, Travis Co. 6642

Rhus coppalinum var. lanceolata, Westminster Glen, Austin, Travis Co. 6643

Rhus coppalinum var. lanceolata, Westminster Glen, Austin, Travis Co. 6645

Rhus coppalinum var. lanceolata, Westminster Glen, Austin, Travis Co. 7293

Scientific Name	Rhus copallinum var. lanceolata (Rhus lanceolata)	USDA PLANTS Symbol	RHLA3
Common Name	Prairie Flameleaf Sumac, Prairie Sumac	ITIS Taxonomic Serial No.	539588
Family	Anacardiaceae (Sumac)	SEINet Reference	Click Here
Description	Habitat: On limestone and calcareous soils in open woodlands, prairies, riverbanks, savannas, rocky slopes and disturbed areas. Plant: Densely branched deciduous large shrub or tree, single or multiple trunks, up to more than 30 ft. tall; colony-forming; younger stems are purplish-reddish, hairless with lenticels; brown bark with large, thin scales later. Leaves: Odd pinnately-compound leaves, up to 12 inches long, each with 13 to 19 linear-lanceolate, falcate (sickle-shaped), leaflets up to 2-1/8 inches long and 1/2-inch wide; winged rachis (the small stem between the leaflets); upper surface is shiny, dark green, lower is paler; leaflets turning bright red in the fall. Inflorescence: Panicles on branch tips, 4 to 8 inches long with 100 to 300 flowers that are mostly unisexual; each tiny blossom ~1/8-inch across (or less) with 5 white petals; staminate (male) flowers have 5 stamens; pistillate (female) have 3 styles and stigmas; 5 greenish-white sepals about half as long as petals. Bloom Period: Late summer to fall. Fruit: Dark red, ovoid drupes less than 1/4-inch in terminal clusters, covered with short, sticky, red hairs; maturing in fall, present during winter. Reference: R. lanceolata in "Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas" by Correll and Johnston, SEINet, Vascular Plants of Williamson County by A.C. Gibson and Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses.	BONAP Distribution Map R. lanceolata Map Color Key	Texas Status: Native

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Banner photo of Castilleja indivisa and Lupinus ssp. taken along FM 1323 north of Johnson City, Blanco County

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