Staghorn Sumac
Rhus typhina is a small tree or large shrub with reddish, hair-covered, sour fruits, or drupes, in the summer.
Scientific name: Rhus typhina or Rhus hirta
Common name: Staghorn Sumac
Plant Family: Anacardiaceae (Cashew or Sumac family)
Etymology: Rhus is the Greek term for sumac, while typhina and hirta are both Latin words for rough, hairy or hair-covered, as the berries and young twigs are covered in short, velvety hairs. “Staghorn” refers to these hairs, as the young twigs resemble the velvet-covered horns of a young stag.
Indigenous Uses
The fruits of Rhus typhina were used by the Algonquin, Menominee, Ojibwa, Cherokee, and Patawomeck people to make food and beverages; the Algonquin, Menominee, and Ojibwa steeped the berries in sweetened water to make a beverage similar to lemonade, and the berries were also eaten fresh or dried.
Medicinal Uses
In the modern day, staghorn sumac is seldom used medicinally. That being said, in the past, the roots, bark, leaves, and fruit were used as an astringent. Other uses vary greatly, ranging from the treatment of diarrhea, fever, piles, uterine prolapse, asthma, sore throat, bed-wetting, poor appetite, and breastfeeding difficulties. The roots, when combined with purple coneflower, were used to treat venereal disease, and a tea made from the berries was used to treat sore throats. Staghorn sumac sap is considered toxic, and may cause a rash, but has been used in the past to treat warts. The dried berries or leaves were mixed with tobacco and smoked, to make the smoke more pleasant, and the roots were chewed to ease toothaches. When mixed with clay, the dry berries were used as a poultice on open sores or in deep wounds to control bleeding and swelling.
Edible Parts
Staghorn sumac berries usually ripen in late summer or early fall, but can be found from June to September. They are often used to make a drink similar to lemonade, but can also be eaten raw or dried and used to season food, as is popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. The young shoots are also edible when the bark is peeled, and can be eaten raw or cooked.
Gathering and Using
The young shoots are usually harvested in early summer when the sumac tree sends off new growth; the portion being harvested should bend and snap easily, as the older growth is tough and inedible. If the broken end of the shoot has a light, pithy core, it is too old. The bark should peel easily, after which the shoot can be eaten raw or cooked. The berries can be snapped off the branch and infused in water to make tea or a beverage akin to lemonade. Steeping the fruits in hot or boiling water can result in a bitter, astringent flavor as the tannins will leech out from the stems and seeds, so it should be steeped in cold or room-temperature water. The sour flavor of the berries can be washed off in the rain, so it’s best to collect during dry weather. People with cashew or mango allergies should avoid eating Rhus typhina.
Permaculture Functions and Considerations
Edible fruit and shoots, wildlife food and habitat, erosion control, shelterbelt. Young shoots can be used to create pipes, flutes, or taps for drawing sap. Oil can be pressed from the seeds and could be used to make candles. The leaves, bark, roots, and fruit can be processed to make dyes.
Habitat
Rhus typhina can be found along roads, streams, and railroads, or on the edges of woods. They prefer sunny areas with rich soil, but can tolerate sandy, nutrient poor soils well. They do not do well in shade, so these trees are seldom found in fully developed forests.
How to Identify
Leaves are alternate and 1.5-2 feet long with lanceolate, serrated leaflets, and are very similar to black walnut. The branches of Rhus typhina fork irregularly, and the new growth is covered in velvety hair. The tree produces reddish, cone shaped drupes, or fruits, covered in velvety hair. It can be anywhere from 3-35 feet tall.
Wildlife Support
Rhus typhina is a great pollinator plant and can act as a winter emergency food for wildlife.
Additional Information
Poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) is similar in appearance to Staghorn sumac, but is highly toxic and contains urushiol, an oil that causes severe skin rashes, and is also found on poison ivy and poison oak. Distinguishing between the two, however, is simple; poison sumac leaves are smooth and shiny, and lack serrations, and the berries grow in whitish, waxy, hairless clusters that droop downwards.
Sources
Brill, Steve, and Evelyn Dean. Identifying & Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants. Harper Collins, 2010, pp. 115–19.
Meredith, Leda. Northeast Foraging : 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Beach Plums to Wineberries. Timber Press, 2014, pp. 253–55.
Moerman, Daniel E. Native American Food Plants : An Ethnobotanical Dictionary. Timber Press, 2010, p. 214.
Thayer, Samuel. The Forager’s Harvest : A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants. Forager’s Harvest, 2006, pp. 252–59.