SMOKE TREE BLOOMING

EUROPEAN SMOKE TREE ON FIRST STREET AND RICE AVE. IN BAYFIELD

...CLOSER VIEW OF HYBRID EUROPEAN SMOKE TREE IN BLOOM

AMERICAN SMOKE TREE (done flowering)

Sunday,  7:30 AM. Wind SSW, very light.  The sky is clear, the humidity 83%.  The barometer is more or less steady, currently at 29.89". It will be a warm summer day.
   The American smoke tree, Cotinus obovata, native to the southeastern US and the Eurasian smoke tree, C. coggygyria, in the Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae) are both quite hardy north. Cotinus is closely related to the Rhus (sumac) species. The American Cotinus species would probably not be much planted except that it has in the past been one of the free plants offered by the Arbor Day Foundation as a membership benefit; but it does have interesting flowers, although not nearly as showy as C. Cggygyria, and very nice orange fall leaf coloration.  The Eurasian species has been hybriized a lot and there are a number of varieties available that have quite spectacular leaf and flower colors.  One is either turned on by the the smoke tree and its varieties or one is not.  In general I find them attractive, but hard to use in the landscape because they stand out so much, particularly when contrasted with the more subdued palette of most North American plants.  They literally shout, "Here I am," like some scene-stealing actor or worse, a campaigning politician.  Be careful whom you vote for!