Two New York native species are Rhus copallinum & Rhus typhina. They look very similar except Rhus typhina grows taller.

The sumac is a large, deciduous shrub or small tree, 15-30 ft. tall, with short, crooked trunks and open branching.

Glossy, dark-green, pinnately compound leaves turn reddish-purple in the fall.

Yellowish-green flowers are succeeded by drooping, pubescent, pyramidal fruit clusters which turn dull red and persist through winter.

It is easily distinguishable from other sumacs by the winged leaf axis and watery sap. 

Rhus typhina (commonly known as stag-horn sumac) is a 25-35 ft., colony-forming, deciduous shrub with crooked, leaning trunks, picturesque branches and velvety twigs.

Large, bright-green, pinnately-compound leaves become extremely colorful in early fall.

Staghorn Sumac reaches tree size more often than related species and commonly forms thickets. 

In winter, the bare, widely forking, stout, hairy twigs resemble deer antlers in velvet.

 Native to eastern North America.