smoke tree

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noun

Also called American smoke tree, chittamwood. a tree, Cotinus obovatus, of the cashew family, native to the southeastern U.S., having egg-shaped leaves and large clusters of small white flowers.

Also called Venetian sumac. a related shrub, C. coggygria, of Eurasia, having elliptical leaves and clusters of hairy, purple flowers.

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Origin of smoke tree

First recorded in 1840–50

Words nearby smoke tree

smoke screen, smoke shelf, smoke shop, smokestack, smokestack industry, smoke tree, smokey, smoking car, smoking-concert, smoking gun, smoking jacket

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use smoke tree in a sentence

The American smoke tree (Cotinus cotinoides) is another member of the sumach family.
American Forest Trees|Henry H. Gibson
The glory of the smoke tree is the utter failure of its clustered flowers to set seed.
Trees Worth Knowing|Julia Ellen Rogers
No garden with a shrubbery border is complete without a smoke tree, which is interesting and beautiful at any season.
Trees Worth Knowing|Julia Ellen Rogers
The Venetian sumach or smoke-tree (R. Cotinus) is commonly planted for ornament.
Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany|Douglas Houghton Campbell

Fustet, fus′tet, n. the smoke-tree or Venetian sumach, or its wood.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for smoke tree

smoke tree

noun

an anacardiaceous shrub, Cotinus coggygria, of S Europe and Asia, having clusters of yellowish feathery flowers

a related tree, Cotinus americanus, of the southern US

Word Origin for smoke tree

C19: so named because of the similarity between its flower clusters and a cloud of smoke

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012