Staghorn sumac has alternate, compound leaves, 16 to 24 inches long. The leaflets are sharply pointed at the tip and narrowed or rounded at the base. The edges of the leaves are finely serrated. In summer, the leaves of the Rhus typhina are dark green and smooth above but the undersides are pale.. In the fall the leaves turn a brilliant shade of red.

Compact clusters of greenish-yellow flowers bloom from June to July. The male and female flowers are usually on separate plants, but some plants have both male and female flowers. Only the female plants produce seeds.

Fruits mature from August to September and may persist through the winter.  The fruiting head is a compact cluster of round, red, hairy fruits called drupes. Each drupe is about ¼ inch in diameter and contains one seed.  There may be 100 to 700 drupes in a cluster.