Key to Rhus Species I. Twigs are densely hairy. Flowers are greenish and open in June or July. Fruits are crimson, hairy, and ripen in August. Twigs are not hairy or only minutely so. A. Buds are minutely hairy.
Twigs are stout and vigorous.
Flowers are greenish and bloom in July or August. Fruit is scarlet and ripens in August or September. Buds are not hairy. Twigs are not as stout and vigorous as the smooth sumac. Twigs are often minutely pubescent.