Michaux's sumac grows in sandy or rocky open woods in association with basic soils. Apparently, this plant survives best in areas where some form of disturbance has provided an open area. Several populations in North Carolina are on highway rights-of way, roadsides, or on the edges of artificially maintained clearings. Two other populations are in areas with periodic fires, and two populations exist on sites undergoing natural succession. One population is situated in a natural opening on the rim of a Carolina bay.

Michaux's sumac is a rhizomatous, densely hairy shrub, with erect stems from 1 - 3 feet (ft) (30.5 – 91 centimeters, cm) in height. The compound leaves contain evenly serrated, oblong to lanceolate, acuminate leaflets. Most plants are unisexual; however, more recent observations have revealed plants with both male and female flowers on one plant. The flowers are small, borne in a terminal, erect, dense cluster, and colored greenish yellow to white. Flowering usually occurs from June to July; while the fruit, a red drupe, is produced through the months of August to October.