smoke tree

smoke tree, any of several plant species, the foliage or flowers of which suggest clouds of smoke. The name is commonly applied to two ornamental species of small trees or shrubs of the genus Cotinus in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Both are deciduous with attractive fall foliage and have short-stalked leaves and fleshy lopsided fruits. The airy inflorescences are largely formed of the coloured stalks of sterile flowers; the clusters resemble smoke from a distance and range from shades of red to pale yellow or cream. Cotinus coggygria, the Eurasian species, has oval leaves, while C. obovatus, the North American species, has egg-shaped leaves and is sometimes called chittamwood.

Another smoke tree, Psorothamnus spinosus, is a spiny grayish green shrub of the pea family (Fabaceae), native to arid regions of southwestern North America. It has sparse foliage and bears bluish violet flowers in dense terminal spikes.