Cotinus coggygria Smoke-tree

A large, bushy, decduous shrub that can become a small tree, native to southern Europe and  Asia, with rounded purple-tinted  leaves that become more red later in summer. The flowers resemble feathery plumes which are pinkish in colour. From a distance the masses of plumes give the illusion of smoke, hence the common name. It is not often recorded as naturalised, but it will self seed and has been recoded in hedges and along railways and in other waste places.  All records in West Glamorgan are of planted individuals. The leaves are used to make a black dye when they are heated in a solution of iron sulphate and a yellow dye called 'young fustic' can be prepared from the wood.

Neophyte