Hotter than Hades today BUT the #Trees and shrubs in my garden positively exploded!

#EasternRedbud #Cercis_canadensis
#Tuliptree #Liriodendron_tulipifera
#AmericanSmoketree #Cotinus_obovatus
#BottlebrushBuckeye #Aesculus_parviflora

Can’t believe I could write about #AmericanSmoketree #Cotinus_obovatus and not discuss the fall foliage! The image is from Rick Darke’s The American Woodland Garden wherein he describes the colors as an “indescribably beautiful… smoky mix of orange, peach, salmon, and bronze” — if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear this book only existed to ruin me financially.

http://www.rickdarke.com

#Trees

There is a similarly-sized #AmericanSmoketree #Cotinus_obovatus from Connecticut, outside of its normal range and likely not on calcareous soils:
https://www.ctmq.org/national-champion-american-smoketree/

The World Rucker list from ENTS lists an extremely tall specimen (62.9’ / 19.17 m) that I’m very curious about. Incidentally, it’s over three times taller than the Eurasian species — take THAT #Buffon !!!

http://ents-bbs.org/viewtopic.php?t=8791&p=46404

#AmericanSmoketree #Cotinus_obovatus is a rare and unfamiliar species often described as a “shrub or small tree” however the Arkansas #ChampionTree defies this categorization!

Related #Trees in the genus #Cotinus are known from the Late #Cretaceous of North America, btw:
https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2021/5/4/the-american-smoketree

Photo credit:
https://www.agriculture.arkansas.gov/forestry/champion-trees/american-smoketree-cotinus-obovatus/