Leaflets are nearly entire, but may have a few teeth. Foliage color is a deep, glossy green. The entire leaf margins and the winged rachis are normally all that is needed to identify this plant. Buds are not hairy, and the terminal bud is absent. Twigs are not as stout and vigorous as the smooth sumac.
Twigs are often minutely pubescent.
Flowers are polygamous or dioecious, greenish, and flower in June or July. Flowers are borne in terminal panicles. Fruits are crimson and ripen in September or October. The terminal fruits are deeper red and not as showy as the smooth sumac. The smooth sumac is the most widespread sumac in Ohio and is found in the west central part of Ohio where staghorn sumac is uncommon.