I picked this up from the US herbalists. Sumac is a small tree that’s often planted in NZ gardens for ornamental value. It has distinctive red flower/fruit heads that last on the tree well after all the leaves have dropped. The trunk and branches are elegant, lending to the sculptural look.
This sumac is also known as staghorn sumac, Rhus thyphina, which helps differentiate it from related poisonous species*. The best way to ID sumac is by the ‘berries’. It took me a while to be sure that I had the right plant because sumac berries aren’t very berry like. Instead they are a horn-shaped cluster of small, red, furry bits:
I still haven’t found out if those are flowers, fruit or seeds, but the Americans call them berries.
The leaves are quite distinctive too, being obviously symmetrical:
Additional ID keys are the furry stems, and when you break them they ooze a white substance.
*If you read US sources of information about this plant there are cautions about not confusing it with poisonous sumac (a related plant). I don’t think this is an issue in NZ because (a) the poisonous sumac is rare (not sure if it even exists in NZ), and (b) it doesn’t look like staghorn sumac – poison sumac has drooping white berry clusters, not upright red ones. The leaves also look different.
Sumac Lemonade
Once you are sure you have the right plant, pick a few heads. It’s best to not pick straight after a rain, as rain washes off some of the tasty bits.
Pull the seeds off and put into a container.
Cover with cold water (yes, cold. Hot water makes the brew too strong) and squash the seeds a bit into the water.
I left mine overnight which made a very strong brew too, which I watered down. Subsequent batches I’ve made with 1 seed head to 2 cups of cold water, steeped up to an hour. Play around and see what works for you. When ready, strain the brew well to remove the fine hairs and bits of seed.
The taste of sumac is refreshingly sour and astringent. You can add honey or sugar if you like, but I’ve been happy drinking it as is. Drink a small amount the first few times to see how your body reacts – sumac is also medicinal and can make you pee more. I didn’t notice anything obvious and have been enjoying a glassful at a time.
You can dry sumac heads for later use (infusion or spice).
Things I want to try:
~ a longer infusion for maximum vitamin C extraction
~ a sumac berry vinegar (‘cos I have to try most things in a vinegar)
~ sumac as a dry spice (sumac is a traditional middle Eastern spice. A local forager told me to mix ground sumac, thyme and salt).
~ sumac honey
~ sumac and berries or other seasonal fruit (there’s a local company making sumac and plum relish).
Sumac resources
Matt Wood discusses on video different species of sumac, its use as a spice, and as medicine.
Susun Weed video on Euell Gibbons’ washing machine method for large batches of sumac lemonade!
9 comments
Comments feed for this article
February 13, 2011 at 10:24 am
Rochana
LOL we’ve got one in the chook pen, I’ve been hacking it, because it grows like a weed… Really glad to know what it is :)
February 13, 2011 at 1:55 pm
lusach
It seems really rampant, I’ve seen one nearby with no fruit but heaps of folliage because it’s been cut back. It seems to self-seed pretty easily too. Do you think the chooks eat the fruit?
February 20, 2011 at 4:56 pm
robertguyton
Fantastic research and description wildcrafty! I like to read your stuff and now I’m looking for sumac, seeds or otherwise. Tonight we are having creme brulee (sp) a la lavender made by our French visitors and at the same time they are concocting something curious from elderberries.
February 20, 2011 at 6:15 pm
lusach
Thanks Robert :-) Curious elderberry concotions… making me very curious!
November 28, 2012 at 11:55 am
Beth
I came across this post while reading your interesting post on vinegar infusions. As a southern American I was astonished to find out about the NZ interest in sumac. It grows wild here, and the birds help it reseed *everywhere* – especially it will come up from underneath shrubbery or other plantings where the seeds have been dropped and protected. Very hard to uproot after it gets started! My grandmother (born 1896 of Scots-Irish mountain background) told me sumacs were called “redheads” for obvious reasons. I didn’t know it had a potential as a ‘brew!’
November 29, 2012 at 11:30 pm
lusach
Hi Beth, I’ll have to have a look and see how it seeds in gardens, but interestingly it hasn’t naturalised here at all. I’m in a dry climate though, are you somewhere damper?
November 30, 2012 at 4:22 am
Beth
Yes, actually, we are quite a bit damper! I hadn’t thought of that as a factor, but we are on the western side of the southern Appalachian mountain chain. We usually have plenty of rain!
February 19, 2017 at 11:07 am
janette theobald
Hi Lusach, I have been hunting for this shrub for dying- do you know where they may be had- or seeds? Don’t actually know if it will grow here- Taranaki, but I’d like to give it a go.
February 27, 2017 at 11:07 pm
lusach
sorry, I have no idea. I found this: “*Rhus typhina L. (Anacardiaceae). A persistent and occasionally slowly spreading species on sites of old homesteads and roadsides in North Island: Upper Hutt, 1954 (85719).” Which suggests it should be common in the NI too. http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_85/rsnz_85_04_005990.html I’d check with the botanic gardens and similar.