Rhus copallinum Linnaeus var. copallinum . Subgenus: Rhus. Eastern Winged Sumac, Eastern Flameleaf Sumac. Phen: Jul-Sep; Aug-Oct. Hab: Longleaf pine sandhills, dry woodlands, maritime thickets (especially from VA northward), old fields, roadsides. Dist: S. NY south to s. FL, west to e. TX, mainly on the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Taxonomy Comments: The recognition of two or more varieties is problematic (the variation in leaflet size, shape, and number clinal), yet the degree of variation makes a monolithic Rhus copallinum uncomfortable.
Other Comments: The Linnaean epithet "Copallinum" (traditionally capitalized) is grammatically a noun in apposition rather than an adjective, and therefore does not change grammatical gender.
Synonymy: = K1, NY, Va; = n/a – Il; = Rhus copallina L. var. copallina – F, orthographic variant; < Rhus copallina L. – G, Pa, RAB, Tx, W, orthographic variant; < Rhus copallina L. var. copallina – NeUS, orthographic variant; >< Rhus copallina L. var. copallina – Barkley (1937), orthographic variant; > Rhus copallina L. var. leucantha (Jacq.) DC. – Barkley (1937), orthographic variant; < Rhus copallinum L. – Ar, C, Fl4, K3, K4, Ok, WH3; >< Rhus copallinum L. – S; > Rhus copallinum var. leucantha; > Rhus leucantha Jacq. – S; > Rhus obtusifolia (Small) Small – S; >< Schmaltzia copallina (L.) Small; > Schmaltzia obtusifolia Small
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