noun
1. : either of two small shrubby plants of the genus Cotinus having large panicles of flowers on plumose pedicels that resemble a cloud of smoke:
a. : an Old World shrub ( C. coggygria ) — called also Venetian sumac
b. : an American shrub or shrubby tree ( C. obovatus ) — called also chittamwood
2. : a spiny grayish green leguminous shrub ( Dalea spinosa ) of desert areas of the southwestern United States and Mexico that has very sparse foliage and terminal spikes of bluish violet flowers and that is a locally important honey plant yielding a light-colored honey of excellent flavor