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| Shrub or small tree to 12 meters tall. Leaves are simple with pink veins. Leaves turn yellow, red, orange or scarlet in the fall. This species is rare in Texas, and probably only occurs in limestone of the Edwards Plateau. The wood gives a yellow die. | Inflorescence is a panicle of small, delicate flowers which range from cream to yellow-green. |
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Within the inflorescence, some of the "pedicels" don't have flowers, but do have feathery trichomes. From afar, this is what gives the plant its "smokey" appearance. Notice that the pedicel with the fruit at the end does not have these hairs. |
The smokey look is much more obvious in the European smoketree, Cotinus coggygria, which is used in horticulture (see http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=COCO10 for an example). |
