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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Smooth Sumac

Rhus glabra
native · Central Texas

Smooth Sumac is a tree native to Central Texas that grows 3–10 ft tall and 10 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms yellow in mid spring. Good for birds and butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

5 sources
Type
Tree
Sun
Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Low
Height
3–10 ft
Spread
10 ft
Bloom
Mid Spring · yellow
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, loam, sand, well drained
Wildlife
Supports birds and butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Northern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

85 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.