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The smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) belongs to Anacardiaceae (the Sumac family). It is a small deciduous tree that is native to most of North America. This tree grows in mountain foerst edges, grasslands and roadsides, and it can reach about 6 m in height. The leaves are odd-pinnate compound with 11-31 lanceolate, glossy leaflets, and turn red in the fall. They are not dangerous to touch. The panicles are borne atop of stems, and bloom small yellowish-green flowers in summer. The fruits are round drupes, ripen dark reddish in the late summer. They remain through winter. The fruits have short sticky red hairs. Native Americans used its leaves, barks and branches which contain tannin for dye.
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