Cotinus
genus of plants
Cotinus (), the
smoketree or smoke bush, is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs (Rhus).
Characteristics
They are large shrubs or small trees, native to the warm temperate Northern Hemisphere. The leaves are deciduous, alternate, simple oval shape, 3–13 cm long. The flowers are clustered in a large open terminal panicles 15–30 cm long with a fluffy grayish-buff appearance resembling a cloud of smoke over the plant, from which the name derives. The fruit is a small drupe with a single seed. Often classified in Rhus in the past, they are distinguished by the leaves being simple (not pinnate) and the 'smoke-like' fluffy flower heads.
Growth
The American smoketree (Cotinus obovatus, syn. Rhus cotinoides) is native to the southeastern United States, from Tennessee south to Alabama and west to Oklahoma and eastern Texas. It is a larger plant, frequently becoming a small tree between 3 and 5 meters (9.8 and 16.4 feet) tall, with a trunk from 20 to 35 centimeters (7.9 to 13.8 inches) in diameter. The leaves are also larger, 6–13 cm long; it also has varied but very bright fall color, usually brighter than the Eurasian species.
“Cotinus” enters the record as genus of plants. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Cotinus, genus and plants can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Cotinus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Cotinus, genus and plants provides the most credible route into that argument.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 27, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q157366. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cotinus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cotinus primary sources, Cotinus archive and Cotinus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cotinus”?
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This entry incorporates text from “Cotinus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.