Sumac
(Rhus glabra)
smooth sumac, vinegar tree, scarlet sumac, mountain sumac, dwarf sumac

Description: A shrub with straggling branches, pale gray bark and sometimes a slightly red bark, 3-20 feet tall. The twigs and leafstalks are smooth, without hairs. Leaves are alternate, pinnate with oblong-lanceolate. There are 11-31 serrate toothed leaflets, green on top, whitish underneath which turn red in the fall. Small, greenish white flowers are in dense panicles. The small, sticky bright red fruits with short appressed hairs, grow in
clusters. Found in North America in fields and openings. Not to be
confused with Poison Sumac which has white fruits, toothless leaves, and grow in or near swamps.

Edible, Medicinal: The sour berries make a pink lemonade-like drink. It is a astringent, diuretic,
emmenagogue, febrifuge, refrigerant, and tonic. A tea is made from the sumac bark or leaves to make a gargle for a sore throat, or diarrhea. A tea of the leaves or berries are used for urinary problems, and bladder. A berry tea or syrup is used for fevers, sores, bed wetting. The root is chewed for mouth sores. A decoction of the fruit can be made into a wash to stop bleeding after childbirth. Steep 1 teaspoon of the bark, leaves or fruit in 1 cup water for 30 minutes. Take 1-2 cups a day, a mouthful at a time.