Cotinus obovatus

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title: "Cotinus obovatus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["anacardiaceae", "flora-of-alabama", "flora-of-arkansas", "flora-of-missouri", "flora-of-oklahoma", "flora-of-tennessee", "flora-of-texas", "dioecious-plants"] description: "Species of flowering plant" topic_path: "general/anacardiaceae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotinus_obovatus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of flowering plant ::

|image = Cotinus-obovatus-habit.JPG |image_caption = Cotinus obovatus at Aarhus Botanical Gardens |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = |genus = Cotinus |species = obovatus |authority = Raf. |range_map = Cotinus obovatus range map 5.png |range_map_caption = Natural range of Cotinus obovatus

Cotinus obovatus syn. C. americanus, the American smoketree, chittamwood or American smokewood, is a rare species of flowering plant in the genus Cotinus of the family Anacardiaceae, native to scattered locations in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee. It is a deciduous, conical shrub growing to 10 m tall by 8 m broad, with oval leaves up to 12 cm long. It produces panicles of pink-grey flowers in summer, and its foliage turns a brilliant scarlet in autumn; considered by many to be the most intense fall color of any tree. The smokey effect derives from the clusters of hairs on the spent flower stalks. It is highly sought after and cultivated in botanical gardens worldwide. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

The Latin specific epithet obovatus means "in the shape of an inverted egg", and refers to the broadly obovate shape of the leaves. The heartwood is a bright yellow. The species does not appear to be in danger of facing extinction in the wild.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Cotinus_obovatus_12zz.jpg" caption="''Cotinus obovatus'' leaves"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/2021-06-02_08_42_00_American_Smoke_Tree_along_Brass_Harness_Court_in_the_Franklin_Farm_section_of_Oak_Hill,_Fairfax_County,_Virginia.jpg" caption="American smoketree"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Smoke_tree_in_Autumn.jpg" caption="American smoketree in Autumn"] ::

References

References

1. IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.. (2020). "''Cotinus obovatus''".
2. {{PLANTS
3. "''Cotinus obovatus''". Missouri Botanical Garden.
4. (2008). "RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants". Dorling Kindersley.
5. "RHS Plant Selector - ''Cotinus obovatus''".
6. Tripp, Kim E.. (1994). "Considering ''Cotinus''". Arnoldia.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::