Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae) - Ornamental Species

Various species of sumac are grown as ornamentals. The staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) is cultivated for its attractive, purple-red foliage in the autumn and the interesting, reddish, horn-shaped fruiting inflorescences of female plants. This species is dioecious, meaning individual plants only bear female flowers (pistillate), or male flowers (staminate). The fragrant sumac (R. aromatica) is also commonly grown in horticulture.

The South American pepper-tree (Schinus molle) is also grown as an ornamental shrub. So are the smoke trees, Cotinus obovatus of North America, and the introduced C. coggygria, with their diffuse and fuzzy, smoke-like inflorescences, and attractive, purplish foliage in autumn.