- Botanical Name
- Rhus glabra
Sumach
Details
Smooth sumach is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to North America, found from southern Quebec to British Columbia and south to Florida, Arizona and north-eastern Mexico. Wikipedia says it bears dense, erect panicles of flowers in spring, followed by large clusters of edible crimson berries that last through winter, and that archaeologists in 2020 found chemical evidence that a Native American tribe smoked it, alone or blended with tobacco. Grieve describes a shrub six to fifteen feet high with pale-grey bark, says the leaves and bark are used in tanning and dyeing, calls the bark tonic and astringent, and warns that the berries of other sumachs should be carefully distinguished from poisonous species.
Correspondences
- Elements
- No elements recorded.
- Celestial Bodies
- No celestial bodies recorded.
- Zodiac Signs
- No zodiac signs recorded.
- Colours
- No colours recorded.
- Deities
- No deities recorded.
Folk Names
- Pennsylvania Sumach
- Scarlet Sumac
- Smooth Sumac
- Upland Sumach
Categories
- Purification
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded.
Forms
Bark
Grieve gives the bark of branches and root, dried, as a part used. She calls the bark tonic, astringent and antiseptic, says a decoction or syrup has been used for diarrhoea, dysentery and leucorrhoea, and says a free use of the bark will produce catharsis. She gives the fluid extract of bark as 1 to 2 drachms.
References
Berry
Grieve gives the dried, ripe berries as a part used. She says the berries are refrigerant and diuretic, should be gathered before rain removes their downy covering, taste sour and astringent, and are eaten freely by country people. She says an infusion is used as a gargle in quinsy and mouth ulcers and that the berries give a black dye for wool.
References
References
Notes
- Gardner and McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association's, p. 739.
- Grieve, "Sumachs," under "SUMACH, SMOOTH".
- Moerman, "Native American Ethnobotany Database," Kiowa, Drug: Other; Vestal and Schultes 1939, p. 37 (NAEB record 32943).
- Wikipedia, under "Rhus glabra."
- Grieve, "Sumachs," under "SUMACH, SMOOTH".
- Grieve, "Sumachs," under "SUMACH, SMOOTH".
Bibliography
- Gardner, Zoë, and Michael McGuffin, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013. (PDF.)
1 - Grieve, M. "Sumachs." A Modern Herbal. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/sumach97.html. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
2 5 6 - Moerman, Daniel E. "Native American Ethnobotany Database." BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas), online form of Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany, 1998. Accessed October 29, 2026. http://naeb.brit.org. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
3 - Wikipedia, under "Rhus glabra." Accessed October 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhus_glabra&oldid=1374481119. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
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