Rhus vernix

black gum

I don't think it's Black Gum, but Poison Sumac is a possibility. I wish it was Black Gum!

try the botanists in the NAME THAT PLANT FORUM .... if you dont come to a decision here

sam is rarely wrong ... if ever ....

ken

The more I look at it and search sites, the more I think he nailed it. Thanks Sam!

Black gum produces simple leaves and a tree-like growth habit, this is a shrub with compound leaves - poison sumac would be my guess also.

+1 for Poison Sumac

If you are looking for something with similar autumn color but without the urushiol, look at blueberries and staghorn or smooth sumac. Some Enkianthus also have a fair amount of red, though some are more gold/orange.

I would say a black gum tree

definitely black gum

This has compound leaves of a different shape and with different venation than black gum - except for being divided the leaves if anything look like those of Cotinus obovatus (a sumac relation).

And a black gum in Maackia's working circle would be most extraordinary!

+oM

Yep, I also thought cotinus obovatus.

Recognizing a compound leaf is essential to basic plant identification. In the first picture, it's difficult to see the foliage but the other two images clearly show us that the plant has compound leaves.