Smooth Sumac

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Peanut

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Smooth Sumac

This is Rhus glabra aka Smooth Sumac, a small tree or large shrub. It's well know in the south for making sumac tea. The tea is very lemon like in flavor, a distinct citrus flavor. It's also high in vitamin C. Making tea is as simple as...

Pick several clusters of berries for use. You can slightly crush the berries to help aid in releasing their flavor. Soak the berry clusters in a pitcher of cold water over night or longer to enhance the flavor. Be sure to use cold water, as hot water can destroy the vitamin C content.

Next, strain the tea through a coffee filter or cheese cloth to remove the berries and particles from the fruit so all you are left with is the tea. Enjoy! You can add sugar, honey or other additives of your choice to suit your palate.


The dried berries are ground to make sumac spice, available for purchase on amerzit. It has an ancient history as a spice used in the middle east and is commonly used in middle eastern restaurants here in the states.

Sumac is also used as a dye for cloth and leather. It's very high in tannins so needs nothing else to set the dye.

https://naturaldyes.ca/sumac
These tannins also make it medicinal, it's very astringent/drying. The inner bark can be used in a poultice to stop bleeding.

I took these photos of Smooth Sumac this afternoon... It's in full bloom, the berries are ripe in late summer.

Smooth Sumac (1)a.JPG
Smooth Sumac (3)a.JPG
Smooth Sumac (4)a.JPG
 
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There are different kinds of sumac. Our go to sumac is known as stag horn, with red flowers, though I have seen white on first year growth. White here is poison sumac, so check and double check any plant new to you. Not you, Peanut, just a thought to people new to foraging.
Peanut, don’t you just love to roll those ripe flowers in your hand for that lemonade like taste?
 
The one big thing to remember about poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix), that sets it apart from plants in the Rhus genus is that it likes wet feet...

Meaning it grows in flat swampy, boggy areas that are underwater parts of the year.

If it's growing on a hillside away from bogs/swampy areas it's not poison sumac. Sumac's will grow next to a bog but not in a bog.

Sumacs (Rhus genus) have red fruit when it ripens.

Poison sumac fruit is always white.
 
I don't think I have an abundance of Smooth Sumac growing near me, but the Staghorn Sumac is plentiful. I love my "Indian Lemonade"!

Question: when straining the Smooth Sumac, does one have to be careful to also strain out the fine "hairs" along with the larger particles, as you would need to do with Staghorn Sumac? Those sharp "hairs" will irritate your throat like crazy if not strained out. (I use fabric.)
 
I have not tried Indian Lemonade as of yet, I do have a recipe in a book, but I alway strained herbal tea though cheese cloth.
 
Speaking of cheese cloth... Around here the only places I could ever buy cheese cloth are WM and sometimes at a fabric store I know (they only have it if someone orders a bunch). The cheese cloth WM sells in usually grade#1 or #2/

Problem, Grade #1 is basically gauze. The thread count it 12X20 per square inch. Grade #2 isn't much better at 12X24. I found myself using a dozen layers or a whole bundle just to stain out a couple quarts of tincture. Then it is throw away, can't be cleaned or washed because it falls apart.

I finally researched cheese cloth. Grade #9 is thread count of 44X36, It can easily be washed with laundry and reused. It was a lot more pricey but I thought it was worth it because I could reuse it. It's also suitable for many more uses. I bought a 50yrd box. With the cheap stuff I was always running out in the middle of something and would have to use rags.

cheese cloth (2) sm.JPG
 
I bought it off Amerzit. I don't remember the particular seller but all the prices were about the same. Except... there are a few high end specialty shops charging way to much so watch out for those.

It was cheapest when buying in bulk, 50yds or 100yds boxes. #9 is used for cheese making also... you might be able to find it that way.
 
Well, if you ever run across your records (likely in the Amazon purchase history), please let me know. There are too many sellers selling crappy goods on Amazon. I have been leery of taking advantage of quantity discounts on an unknown-to-me seller, so I've been paying high dollars for the quantities offered by reputable sellers.
 
In my area, there is a plant that becomes a tree. It grows quickly and 1 tree produces more than 1 million seeds a year. Many people call it sumac, and it is probably related. It is called ailanthus altissima. It has other names, but is typically called the tree of heaven. I had many in my yard when I purchased my home and I call it the tree from hell. I have dug many out of my yard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailanthus_altissima
Ailanthus altissima
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Tree of heaven" redirects here. For the TV show, see Tree of Heaven (TV series).
Tree of heaven[1]
Scientific classification edit
Binomial name
Synonyms[2]
Götterbaum (Ailanthus altissima).jpg
Large specimen growing in a park in Germany
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Tracheophytes
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Sapindales
Family:Simaroubaceae
Genus:Ailanthus
Species:A. altissima
Ailanthus altissima
(Mill.) Swingle
  • Ailanthus cacodendron (Ehrh.) Schinz & Thell.
  • Ailanthus erythrocarpa Carrière
  • Ailanthus giraldii Dode
  • Ailanthus glandulosa Desf.
  • Ailanthus guangxiensis S.L.Mo
  • Ailanthus japonica K.Koch
  • Ailanthus japonica Dippel
  • Ailanthus peregrina (Buc'hoz) F.A.Barkley
  • Ailanthus pongelion J.F.Gmel.
  • Ailanthus procera Salisb.
  • Ailanthus rhodoptera F.Muell.
  • Ailanthus sinensis Dum.Cours. nom. illeg.
  • Ailanthus sutchuensis Dode
  • Ailanthus vilmoriniana Dode
  • Albonia peregrina Buc'hoz
  • Choerospondias auriculata D.Chandra
  • Rhus cacodendron Ehrh.
  • Toxicodendron altissimum Mill.
Ailanthus altissima /eɪˈlænθəs ælˈtɪsɪmə/,[3] commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, varnish tree, or in Chinese as chouchun (Chinese: 椿; pinyin: chòuchūn), is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae.[1] It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus Ailanthus, it is found in temperate climates rather than the tropics.
The tree grows rapidly and is capable of reaching heights of 15 m (50 feet) in 25 years. While the species rarely lives more than 50 years, some specimens exceed 100 years of age.[4] Its suckering ability makes it possible for this tree to clone itself indefinitely.[5] It is considered a noxious weed and vigorous invasive species,[1] and one of the worst invasive plant species in Europe and North America.[6]
 
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I bought it off Amerzit. I don't remember the particular seller but all the prices were about the same. Except... there are a few high end specialty shops charging way to much so watch out for those.

It was cheapest when buying in bulk, 50yds or 100yds boxes. #9 is used for cheese making also... you might be able to find it that way.

Being totally ignorant on this process,
I just couldn't help but think , would coffee filters work for straining.

Jim
 
Being totally ignorant on this process,
I just couldn't help but think , would coffee filters work for straining.

Jim
Think of how long it takes to drip a pot of coffee. The mesh in a coffee filter is very tight and over kill for many applications. Cheese cloth is perfectly fine for filtering oil from my fryer, or if I process several quarts of tincture. It'd take hours with coffee filter. I could only dip a half cup or so into a coffee filter. With big piece of cheese cloth I can filter a quart, dump it in and go do other things instead of standing and waiting with a little cup.
 
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  • Cheesecloth Grade 90, 50 Yards/Box, 44x36 Thread Count, Ultra Fine Cheesecloth For Cooking, Straining, Basting,Cheese-Making, Cheese Bag, Nut Milk Bag, Canning, Jellies, Reusable, 100% Cotton Fabric
Click image to open expanded view







Cheesecloth Grade 90, 50 Yards/Box, 44x36 Thread Count, Ultra Fine Cheesecloth For Cooking, Straining, Basting,Cheese-Making, Cheese Bag, Nut Milk Bag, Canning, Jellies, Reusable, 100% Cotton Fabric
 
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https://www.thespruce.com/sumac-trees-and-shrubs-3269722Sumacs include about 35 flowering woody North American species in the Rhus genus within the Anacardiaceae family, which also includes cashews, mangos, and pistachios. There are dozens of other sumac species native to Europe, Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world, a few of which are used as landscape plants in the U.S. Sumacs are generally shrubs or small trees. Most have compound pinnate leaves (with leaflets arranged around a central stem), but some have simple leaves or trifoliate (three leaflets) leaves. Sumac species include both evergreen and deciduous types, and they generally spread by suckering, which allows them to quickly form small thickets but can also make the plants overly aggressive in some circumstances. Sumacs are often planted for the bright fruits (drupes) that are a favorite food of birds, and for the autumn color, which is usually a bright yellow, orange, or red.
 
I don't suppose Poison Sumac is related to the other Sumacs but it can be found.
 
Grizzleyette___Adams & Peanut, thanks I did not know about grade #9 or buying by the box.


The thing to look for is #sq yards of what you're buying. Then you can compare... I bought Grade #90, 50sq yards for $59.99 last Jan. or $1.20 per sq yard. I have no idea of the current prices. Logically, if you buy 400sq yards the price per yard is cheaper.

cheese cloth $60.jpg
 
Warning
Although they are now separated out into their own genus (Toxicodendron), several plant species known commonly as poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak, were once classified in the Rhus genus, and a sizable number of landscape sumacs contain the same toxin (urushiol) that can cause serious skin and lung irritation in sensitive individuals. Use care when handling sumac or when pruning or disposing of it.

So they changed the genus from Rhus to Toxicodendron over 26 years ago.
I taught Poisonous plants in BSA in 2004 & my book put poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak in the new group.
The book, Peterson Field Guides, was copyright in 1994.
 
This thread epitomizes why the latin name of plants is important (as annoying as they are). That's why I always try to give the latin name of any plant I post about. Any known plant has one, and only one, latin name. Vague names like "sumac" might mean 100 different plants to 100 different people. Thus, confusion and misunderstanding enters into the conversation.

Someone reading the thread above might think... "several people posted that sumac is poison". The truth, sumac is not poison, Toxicodendron vernix is considered poison because contains an oil that causes a severe rash.

In the article Joel just linked was posted on "The Spruce". Elsewhere the Spruce acknowledges the name Rhus vernix was changed 26 years ago but they are still using it along with several universities. This does nothing but add confusion to people trying to learn what might be dangerous to them/kids.

The man who wrote the article is David Beaulieu. He's not a botanist or professor, just some guy who worked in a nursery for 10 years and now writes about gardens. The first sentence in his article is "Poison sumac (Rhus vernix) grows in damp". Why are simpletons like this even published?
brickwall100.gif
If he actually wanted to help people he would use the correct latin name.
 
For cheesecloth could the less expensive game bags work ? Maybe they are more expensive per sq/ft. But might be available though
 
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