Fun Seed from Mystery Ornamental - Help!

Henstuff

Hi group,
I would like to ID the tree that made this tumble-weed-esque seed pod. It came from a small diameter ornamental tree in a yard in Pueblo, Colorado. There were three trunks growing close together, about 4" in diameter, and about 20 feet tall. I don't have a guide to western trees, so any help would be really appreciated.
Thanks,
Ole in Vermont

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Eden Keeper

It looks like part of a spent flower from the common or European smoketree, Cotinus coggygria Scop., which is often planted as an ornamental. I live in the range of the American smoketree, Cotinus obovatus Raf., which has virtually indistinguishable flowers. The trees are either male or female and this one appears to be male, or if otherwise no seed remained attached. Other common names for American smoketree are chittimwood (also spelled with an 's') and yellowwwood due to it being used to make a dye and reportedly nearly harvested to extinction locally. As a result it was proposed as an endangered species, meanwhile a noted nurseryman was rooting cuttings from trees in a utility right-of-way (ROW) until all of those trees were killed with herbicide since clearing the ROW manually was too expensive. Fortunately it turns out the rarity was greatly exaggerated since much of the habitat (remaining from when the dye was in demand) is on relatively inaccessible mountain slopes (with limestone outcrops), but some of this area has since been developed for housing, and the homeowners are either oblivious (that it is/was in their lot), hate it (as an ugly, deformed, and/or weedy tree/shrub), or love it (due to chittimwood being mentioned in the Bible, although a common and exaggerated claim is that the only two places it is found are in a small part of the Bible Belt and in the Holy Land).

Henstuff

Thanks for your time. That looks like the one!
Ole