Sumac: The Indispensable Drying Remedy

Scientific Name: Rhus spp.

Properties: Diaphoretic, Antibiotic, Antidiarrheal, Antiasthmatic, Diuretic, Tonic,

Alterative, Antimicrobial, Astringent, Emetic (root).

Energetics: Cool, dry, sour, astringent.

Parts Used: Berries/Fruits, Leaves, Bark, Twigs, sometimes Root.

Groups

Anacardiaceae, the cashew family or sumac family

When I see the graceful and fiery Sumac, sometimes I just want to stare at it a while and sigh.  Reminds me of when I was a little girl, playing in my backyard and Elm Creek Park Reserve. I remember it clearly, and for that, I consider Sumac a childhood friend of sorts J Its electric red leaves reminding me that fall is here and winter is coming. Believed by some Native American tribes to foretell the weather and the changing of the seasons, for this reason, it was held as a sacred plant. It has somewhat of a wild and jungley looking appearance.  A patch of Sumac is the perfect place for a kid to play and pretend they’re in a different world. As an herbalist, my friendship with Sumac has continued to the present.

Constituents:

Wild Sumac contains Calcium malate, Dihydrofisetin, Fisetin, Iodine, Gallic-acid-methylester, tannic and gallic acids, Selenium, Tartaric-acid, and many beneficial minerals. Sumac is an excellent source of vitamin C (the berries make an awesome high vitamin C lemonade)Sumac berries contain malic acid, which possess antifungal properties and putative anti-fibromyalgic activity; tannic acid, which is present in tea and wine and is known for its astringent activity; and gallic acid, a white crystalline compound used in dyes, in photography, and in ink and paper manufacture.

Physical Characteristics:

There are some 250 sumac species in the genus. All the berries of the red sumacs are edible. Sumacs are found throughout the world, with many species in North America. You’ll find them across all of the United States and Canada except for the far north. Sumacs are a shrub or small tree that can reach from four to 35 feet. The leaves are arranged in a spiral and the flowers are dense spikes, an inch to four inches long, on the end of branches called terminal clusters. The fruits are technically drupes and collectively are called “bobs.”

History/Folklore:

Sumac is considered to be a deer or elk medicine in American Indian woodlore. The branches of these small trees look like deer or elk antlers. Deer like to browse at the edges of fields, where this plant grows – a colonist from the forest. That way they can eat the rich offerings of the field, but dash away into the forest.

Wild Sumac was used extensively by Native Americans for food and medicine. Young shoots and roots are peeled and eaten raw. The fruit is also eaten raw, cooked or made into a lemonade-like drink. Acid on hairs on the berries is used to make an ade. The berries themselves can be used to make a spice, sometimes a tea. The active constituents in Sumac are being studied for use in many diseases some possible applications are in the treatment of TB, diabetes, and some cancers.

Sumac leaves and berries are classified as astringent and cooling. Certain Native American and Canadian Indian tribes used sumac to treat bladder, digestive, reproductive, and respiratory ailments; infections; injuries; stomachaches; arrow wounds; and more. The Chippewa Indians of North America made a decoction of sumac flowers to treat gas, indigestion, and other digestive upsets. The Iroquois used sumac as a laxative, diuretic, expectorant, liver aid, and in countless other applications. The powdered bark and dried berries were allegedly combined with tobacco and smoked during peace pipe ceremonies. The inner bark was also used to treat hemorrhoids.

Early pioneers used the berries to reduce fevers, and they steeped and strained the berries and thickened the mixture with honey to yield a soothing cough syrup. Some transformed the berries into wine. Others used the root to produce an emetic tea (to induce vomiting), the bark to make dye, and the leaves to relieve symptoms of asthma.

Cautions

Sumac is related to cashews, mangoes, and poison ivy. If you're you're so sensitive to poison ivy that you can't eat cashews or mangoes, you should avoid sumac too.

Poisonous Lookalikes

Make sure the flower clusters are upright, and the clusters of berries are upright and red or red-orange. Poison sumac (Rhus vernix) has drooping clusters of white berries, quite different from the edible species.