SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cotinus coggygria

COMMON NAME: common smoke tree

FLOWERS: Purple stalk with white flowers in the spring. Flower stalk gives the appearance of smoke rising.

LEAVES: Opposite. Veins appressed (stick out on the bottom). Smells like Pine Sol disinfectant when crushed. Looks like a ping-pong paddle. Can be purple or purple/green depending on cultivar. Leaves are at the tips of the branches. Texture is like cabbage.

GROWTH HABIT: Grows 8' to 12' tall as a shrub.

OTHER: Hardy from zone 4 to 8. Works well as a shrub border, or in mass plantings, and as a single specimen plant. Pith is yellow. Member of the Anacardiaceae family. 'Purpureus' is a purple leafed cultivar. Must be in the sun to retain purple color.