SimplePlant

Anacardiaceae

Skunkbush sumac

Rhus trilobata Nutt.

Family
Anacardiaceae
Genus
Rhus

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

Skunkbush sumac: Photo of Rhus trilobata (squawbush) in Calico Basin west of Las Vegas, Nevada
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (6)
Chinese
臭鼬漆树, 臭鼬漆樹, 三裂盐麸木
English
Skunkbush sumac, Lemonadebush, Skunkbrush, Squawbush, Three-leaf sumac, Sourberry
Hebrew
אוג משולש
nv
Chiiłchin diyógí
Persian
سماق بدبو
Polish
Sumak trójklapowy

Synonyms

  • Rhus aromatica subsp. trilobata (Nutt.) W.A.Weber
  • Rhus canadensis var. trilobata (Nutt.) A.Gray ex J.M.Coult.
  • Schmaltzia trilobata (Nutt.) Small
  • Toxicodendron trilobatum (Nutt.) Kuntze

Flowers

Flower colour
yellow (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Shrub
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Toxicity: Slight, as listed by the USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29). USDA rates how toxic a plant is to people or livestock; it is not a pet-safety rating, so ask a vet or poison line if a pet or child ate it.

Photos

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); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.