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and making sumacade. Smooth sumac is well known for its brilliant red fall foliage and its deep red berries. Once dry, remove the leaves and sticks. To give you an idea how concerned you need to be about the risk of encountering the poison sumac in your environs, go to the USDA website http://plants.usda.gov/checklist.html, enter the scientific name Toxicodendron vernix, put a checkmark in your state’s box, scroll down and click on display results. Roots produced a yellow dye and a light-yellow dye could be made from the pulverized pulp of stems. Most varieties of sumac have fuzzy fruit, but the smooth sumac's fruit are smooth (hence the name smooth sumac). You can differentiate the species by the fact that the branches of staghorn sumac have a furry texture. Sumac has also shown to have benefits for treating diarrhea, dysentery, sore throats, infections, asthma and cold sores. Treehoppers’ environments are defined by their host species, A super bloom of desert annuals on the Colorado Plateau, A plant incapable of photosynthesis but good at forming bridges. Discover (and save!) Edible Parts The ripe fruit can be used in baking but the tiny black seeds are very hard and can be problematic for the teeth if chewed on. Or if they are moist from weather, you can air dry them for 1 week in a paper bag and then store them in a glass airtight container at room temperature. Sumac species tend to be regional. This chart may help you identify species: Caution: The milky sap of Rhus spp. There are several types of edible sumac in the U.S. including smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), staghorn sumac (R. typhina), and three leaved sumac (R. trilobata). The berries are high in calcium and potassium (Elpel, 2013). The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 6 November 2015). Yes! Tree of Heaven’s crushed leaves have a strong peanut-like smell, which is an easy identifier. False poison sumac (R. michauxii) is a plant globally threatened with extinction, so it should not be harvested at all. Rhus glabra. Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) is not the only species with forage-able fruit, but it is the most common species I find locally. My video on sumacs is here. It is 43rd on the Best Browse List. Description, maps, photos & web resources. If you examine the whole leaf closely, you’ll see that the leaflets attach somewhat on the top side of the stem, so that the bulk of the stem is below the plane of the leaf. The genus Rhuscontains about 35 species that are native to North America, but only one other species is native to Colorado—fragrant sumac, Rhus trilobata. In effect, it parasitizes a mutualism after germinating in the grasp of a fungus. Peterson, L.A.(1977). Flower Description: Clusters of flowers are small, yellow-green and each flower forms into a berry on the erect cluster. Smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, is the only shrub or tree that is native to all of the 48 contiguous states. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Peterson, R.T., McKenny, M. (1968). Then just break off the berry cluster and take it home! Place in food processor. Just make sure the berries are in a dense, upright, red cluster. Sumac tends to get a bad rap for a number of reasons, but you might be surprised to find that smooth sumac is just one of many edible varieties of sumac. Cloud, MN. 2015. Staghorn sumac has very fuzzy stems, hence the name staghorn. It is not, though, as sour aslemon or vinegar. I collected the treehoppers to photograph them and 7 hours later they were still amplectic. Young twigs could be plucked from a shrub, peeled and eaten as a crunchy salad. Foragers in those areas should avoid sumac harvesting unless they have high confidence of their identification skills and have thoroughly familiarized themselves with the local species. It is found in Dinwiddie, Brunswick and Nottoway counties of Virginia (especially in and around the Ft. Pickett area) as well as North Carolina and Georgia. The fruit is persistent on the shrub into winter. Sumacs are a transitional species in most forests. Tea prepared from leaves was used to treat asthma and diarrhea. The three poisonous plants all have white-yellow berries, while the food sumacs you are seeking have red fruits. The Smooth Sumac’s Spectacular colors and Endless Appeal. Nutrition: Smooth sumac berries probably have their peak nutrition shortly after they ripen, even though you can harvest them into winter. They are very tart and make a wonderful sumac lemonade! Juice extracted from roots was believed to cure warts. Staghorn sumac, winged sumac, and smooth sumac are the most common sumac species in Georgia. How To Make Sumac … They make excellent wildlife shrubs because they provide shelter and food for birds and small mammals. Tree-of-Heaven produces a very different seedpod cluster, a tassle of winged seeds in July or August, generally before sumac berries mature. Smooth sumac and fragrant sumac have always been conspicuous in the fall, but now they seem more apparent to me. I have written several posts on staghorn sumac, by far the most common of the red-berried shrubs in this area but by no means the only edible variety.When I accidentally stumbled upon another variety, rhus glabra or smooth sumac, I was interested in finding out just what the differences between the two types is. It has edible relatives that are similar, such as Smooth Sumac. Edible sumac has red fruit borne in terminal clusters. The foliage usually turns brilliant red, reddish orange, or purplish red in early autumn. Tree-of-Heaven that is three to six years old is the same size as sumac, but will never produce the berry cluster. Naitve Americans also used sumac leaves in the smoking mixture call kinninkinick. In the fall the leaves turn a bright red. The red berries are beloved by wild-edibles enthusiasts, who use them to make a kind of "pink lemonade" and jellies. (1951). Considered a nuisance by most, this incredibly prolific plant is easy to spot and can be found nearly everywhere. There are numerous wild edibles that can be harvested and enjoyed with youth. In the northeast the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina, synonym: Rhus hirta) predominates. Exposed to rain and snow over time, some nutrients are washed away. While some people eat the young shoots of sumac stems, I’m not impressed enough by the flavor to repeat the experience. The leaves of poison sumac differ in being hairless and shiny with smooth margins. Add the berries to the water and use a potato masher or a spoon to crush the berries so they release their flavor. Smooth and fragrant sumac are easy to distinguish. If a portion of a branch, leaves and berry cluster are harvested as one, the branch can be set up in a durable, weighted, dry vase and allow the birds to forage the berries off the plant at will. Unlike poison sumac, which yields a white berry, all the edible varieties of sumac have bright red berries. 13,335) Honewort; Wild Chervil Latin Name: Cryptotaenia canadensis Species with red berries, including smooth and fragrant sumac, produce edible berries, while species with white berries, including poison ivy, have poisonous berries. Johnson, Kathleen A. A trilobata leaf develops as three completely separated lobes, while a glabra leaf is compound, one to two feet long, with 11 to 31 pointed leaflets per leaf—these remind me of the leaves of ferns. The Smooth Sumac and Shining Sumac are smooth both on the twigs and the fruits. Considered a nuisance by most, this incredibly prolific plant is easy to spot and can be found nearly everywhere. The moisture content of sumac is very low, so they are not likely to mold if kept in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. your own Pins on Pinterest If you indeed do have poison sumac in your county, spend some time doing additional research with the resources listed below until you feel more comfortable with identification, so you don’t come home from foraging scratching a budding rash. Copyrighted data used with permission. They will retain more of their nutritive value, though, if they remain dry. Root - peeled and eaten raw [161, 183]. So set up the vase under a roof in the enclosure. Then zoom in on your state until the individual counties display in green. (2012) Flora of Virginia. The leaflets are dark green and smooth above, and pale beneath, except along the midrib. View photos of the edible and medicinal plant Rhus glabra (Smooth sumac), profiled in Wild Edible Plants of Texas. More and more gardeners are growing sumac in their landscape and gardens for their bold fall color. Edible Parts: Fruit Oil Root Stem Edible Uses: Drink Oil Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 22, 46]. Wildflowers: Northeastern/North-central North America. Both grow 10 to 15 feet tall with a similar width and have bright red fall colors. Photo by Jeff Mitton. It shares the Latin name rhus with hundreds of other species, several of which are “poisonous,” but not lethal. Fruit Size: Each berry within the larger fruit cluster is about 1/8 inch (3.5 mm), round, red and velvety. Edible parts of Smooth Sumach: Fruit - raw or cooked. The berries tend to be ripe in the summer. Staghorn sumac has very fuzzy stems, hence the name staghorn. While all four are in the same family (Cashew), the latter three are non-poisonous. The edible … The leaves are feather-compound, with 3 to 25 leaflets, depending on the species. It has a tart, lemony taste and smell that comes from malic acid on the sumac berries. These edible plants are also known as smooth upland sumac, scarlet sumac, dwarf sumac, lemonade tree, vinegar tree, shining sumac, mountain sumac, hairy sumac, velvet sumac, Virginian sumac, and winged sumac (Angier [2008] 1974: 224; Kindscher 1987: 191; Medve and Medve 1990: 183). It is found growing in thickets and waste ground, open fields and roadsides, and tends to be invasiveSumac is a shrub or small tree from 6 to 15 feet high, with large pinnate leaves, each leaflet is lanceolate, serrate and green on top whitish beneath. Smooth Sumac is very similar to the Staghorn Sumac, except it is a smaller plant, usually 10 to 15 feet high, that is normally a large shrub and it does not have hairy twigs or fruit clusters. Rub the berries around with your hands, then let soak for about half an hour. Female flowers also have 5 petals but a single style which splits into three lobes at the tip. The leaves themselves alternate along the branch. Sumacs are shrubs or small trees that often form colonies from their creeping, branched roots. Sumac is high in vitamins A and C, as well as being full of antioxidants. Edible Use Name Family: Smooth Sumac Family: Anacardiaceae Rhus glabra Description: A small tree or shrub that has compound leaves. There are several types of edible sumac in the U.S. including smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), staghorn sumac (R. typhina), and three leaved sumac (R. trilobata). Attracts Butterflies and Birds. It grows in almost any well-drained soil and they like full sun or partial shade. Berries were frequently eaten raw but also made into a refreshing lemonade. Foraging Sumac- Edible Wild Plant 1. It is found growing in thickets and waste ground, open fields and roadsides, and tends to be invasiveSumac is a shrub or small tree from 6 to 15 feet high, with large pinnate leaves, each leaflet is lanceolate, serrate and green on top whitish beneath. Sumac berries are a dry, long lasting food source well into winter, so you don’t have to worry about the fruits rotting, souring or fermenting. In fact the red berries can be crushed into water to make a tart drink (sumac-ade), due to the high concentration of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the red covering over the seed clusters. They can produce itchy rashes on contact, such as poison ivy, poison oak and even a species of sumac called … Any sumac variety that has red berries is edible, including staghorn sumac and smooth sumac. The flowers, which range from green to white, are arranged in upright clusters called drupes. It is similar to smooth sumac, except the leaves are untoothed. They contain tannins, phytols, and three different compounds related to gallic acid which have antimicrobial activities. Sumac Berries – Sumac has a bad reputation for being poisonous, but only a few species are actually toxic. Sugar to taste. Does this lend itself to being a good enrichment item? The edible … Species with red berries, including smooth and fragrant sumac, produce edible berries, while species with white berries, including poison ivy, have poisonous berries. Since there are poisonous plants in the Anacardiaceae family, and since poison sumac does resemble some of the food sumacs during its foliage stage, care should be taken when foraging. Virginia Botanical Associates. It is a woody shrub that grows three to six feet tall in the Rocky Mountains, but 10 to 20 feet tall elsewhere. All edible sumacs have red, rough-textured ones. Toxicodendron (the Poison  ivy, Poison oak, Poison sumac family.) As this specialist feeds it drills many tiny holes in the leaves. A larva concentrates the sumac’s chemical defenses in its feces and then coils the fetid feces on its back, forming a fecal shield that deters avian predators. Tea prepared from green twigs was used to treat tuberculosis. Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) is one of the most common roadside trees in Kentucky. before straining. 12,334) Staghorn Sumac Latin Name: Rhus typhina Audubon Society Flowers (pg. The fruit grows in clusters of red and fuzzy berries and … Native Americans were aware that red sumac berries were edible—analyses of remains of human feces contained sumac seeds dated to 1,200 CE at Antelope House in Canyon de Chelly and from at least 2,000 years ago at Puebloan sites across the Four Corners area. Another common wildlife food genus, related to sumac. Sumac, being a good source of vitamin C, imparts a very sour, lemony taste to dishes. If it's good and lemony you'll know it! U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). When you find edible sumac, taste it before taking it - - put a fuzzy berry in your mouth. Crushed twigs and leaves yielded a black dye when mixed with ochre mineral and the resin of pinyon pine. 12,334) Staghorn Sumac Latin Name: Rhus typhina Audubon Society Flowers (pg. Mitton: Smooth sumac’s deep red berries are edible, but its leaves poisonous Plant was an important source of food, medicine, weaving materials and dyes In the fall the leaves turn a bright red. Winged Sumac Latin Name: Rhus copallina Audubon Society Flowers (pg. Eventually the leaves will drop and the berry clusters will be left standing alone to face winter as an easily recognizable winter silhouette. Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www.vaplantatlas.org). Let the berries steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Each berry contains a single hard, gray-brown, pointy egg-shaped seed within. But there are couple of safety issues to consider. The fruit grows in clusters of red and fuzzy berries and … The berries are high in calcium and potassium (Elpel, 2013). Aside from terminal clusters of red berries, notice Smooth Sumac's bloom-covered smooth young twigs and large pinnately compound leaves. In fact the red berries can be crushed into water to make a tart drink (sumac-ade), due to the high concentration of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the red covering over the seed clusters. It’s everywhere during the warm, summer months! Staghorn Sumac has leaves that have a hairy leaf stem and rachis, the stem that the leaflets are attached to. Wearing disposable or washable gloves, run or crush a leaf of Tree-of-Heaven in your through hand—gloved so in case it is poison sumac you will not have skin contact. How-to guide. Sumac is a deciduous shrub native to North America found in all 48 mainland states of USA and in southern Canada. The twigs have a white sap flowing inside, which can be seen if the twig is broken. As with most wild foods, timing is important with this small tree. Now that you know what to look for, I’ll bet you’ll find wild edible sumac all over the place! Smooth sumac is not poisonous. 2000. National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, St. Leave them overnight, or until the water turns red. That being said, there are some people who have allergies to the cashew family generally (cashews, mangoes, pistachios), and if you have these sensitivities, then you should avoid handling ANY of the Rhus species. Wild Chervil Latin Name: Rhus copallina Audubon Society flowers ( pg by the flavor smooth sumac edible repeat the experience in! Twigs have a strong peanut-like smell, which can be found nearly everywhere a spoon crush! Smell, which yields a white berry, all the edible smooth sumac edible of sumac are and. Roots produced a yellow dye and a light-yellow dye could be made from pulverized. ( often gray. the northeast the staghorn sumac Latin Name: Rhus typhina Audubon Society flowers pg! 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