Anacardiaceae

Sumac

Rhus taitensis Guill.

Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Rhus

Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants

Sumac (Rhus taitensis) — FlowerPhoto: Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free

Common names

By language (6)

English: Sumac
French: Apape
Japanese: ナンヨウハゼノキ
Persian: راس تیتنسیس
Tongan: Tavahi
ty: ʻāpape, ʻāvai

Synonyms

Duckera taitensis (Guill.) F.A.Barkley
Melanochyla tomentosa Engl.
Melanococca tomentosa Blume
Rhus engleriana Warb.
Rhus ferruginea Teijsm. & Binn. ex Engl.
Rhus panaciformis F.Muell.
Rhus retusa Zoll. ex Teijsm. & Binn.
Rhus rufa Teijsm. & Binn.
Rhus simarubifolia A.Gray
Toxicodendron retusum Kuntze
Toxicodendron simarubifolium Kuntze

Flowers

In flower: March to April (from 7 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Pacific Basin: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Damien Wallace, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Damien Wallace, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Nick T., CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Rhus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.