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Home , Anacardiaceae, Rhus aromatica, Rhus copallinum, Rhus coriaria, Rhus glabra, Rhus lanceolata

Medicine (Rhus spp., )

Leslie L. Bush Sacred Journey School of Herbalism “Foundations of Herbalism” Final Project May 2, 2020 and Travis County Archeological Society May 26, 2020 Family (Anacardiaceae)

• Includes familiar – Cashew – – – Pink peppercorn – (recently added to the family) A typical sumac: Smooth sumac ()

Photo: Wisconsin DNR via Lakeside Nature Center Friendly plants available year-round, many uses

Sumac from a 17th century Native American village near Chicago. Pipestone National Monument, December 26, 2010. -10 degrees F plants red and red fall foliage

Smooth sumac, Pipestone National Monument, October 2019 Even evergreen sumac is red . . .

Evergreen sumac inner and under UV light About 11 species in the US 6 or 7 in From East to West: – Fragrant sumac () E ½ – Smooth sumac (R. glabra) NE 1/3 – Winged sumac (R. copallinum) E 1/3 – Flameleaf sumac ()* – Evergreen sumac (R. virens)* – Skunkbush sumac (R. trilobata)* – Littleleaf sumac (R. microphylla) W ½

*Travis County species Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) E of IH-35 Tri-lobed sumac are different from poison ivy. Plus, are bushy and covered in () leaves; p. ivy is more a vine or upright Sumac (R. aromatica and R. trilobata) Poison Ivy ( radicans) Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) East Texas

Serrate leaflet edges, smooth green undersides Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) East Texas

Serrate leaflet edges, smooth green undersides Kartesz 2015 Winged sumac () East of IH-35

Smooth-edged leaves, winged rachis

Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) East of IH-35

Smooth-edged leaves, winged rachis

Flameleaf sumac (Rhus lanceolata)

May 1, 2020 April 15, 2020. Leaves still young, no or . Flameleaf sumac (Rhus lanceolata) Evergreen sumac () Evergreen sumac (Rhus virens) Skunkbush sumac ()*

*Lumped with Rhus aromatica by some authorities. It’s basically the western variant of R. aromatica, with R. trilobata having smaller leaves with smooth undersides. Skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata)*

*Lumped with Rhus aromatica by some authorities. It’s basically the western variant of R. aromatica, with R. trilobata having smaller leaves with smooth undersides. Littleleaf sumac () West Texas

Big Bend National Park, August 2019 Palo Duro Canyon State Park, June 2019 Littleleaf sumac (Rhus microphylla) West Texas

Big Bend National Park, August 2019 Palo Duro Canyon State Park, June 2019 Sumac Medicine: Properties and Associations • Sour • Astringent (tannic) • Red

• Antimicrobial (Fazeli et al. 2007; Nasar-Abbas and Halkman 2004) • Antioxidant (Kosar et al. 2007) Sumac Properties: Sidebar • Sumac is traditionally said to be a good source of Vitamin C, but . . .

• Plus, Kossah et al. 2009 found little Vitamin C in the two species of wild- collected sumac fruits they analyzed for nutritional content Sumac in Native American Medicine (Moerman 1998) Anti-microbial (external) Anti-microbial (internal) • Wash, poultice, or • Infusion or decoction for powder applied to sores, GI and urinary issues: boils, blisters, and itchy dysentery, diarrhea, scalp. Includes sunburn vomiting, worms, and smallpox sores stomach troubles, ulcers, • Eyewash from blossoms painful urination • Also for scarlet fever, measles, mumps, coughs, colds, and chest pain Sumac in Native American Medicine (Moerman 1998) Mouth troubles Childbirth • Mouthwash for sore • Infusion or decoction throat, canker sores, drunk to prevent water mouth, gums, or breaking too early, to teething troubles help deliver placenta, or • Fruit chewed for to prevent hemorrhage toothaches after birth • Applied externally as post-partum antiseptic Sumac in Native American Medicine: Smoke Leaves used extensively in smoking mixtures by indigenous people in the Southeastern US, including Texas (Knight 1975; Roemer 2011:163)

Ferdinand Roemer 1847

Photo: Wikimedia Commons Sumac in Western Herbalism

“Sumach is the best medicine for stopping the outflow of fluids via the kidneys, skin, colon, lungs, and other channels of elimination.” -Matthew

Sumac is one of Wood’s “indispensible herbs”. Sumac Western Herbalism: Excess Fluids • Post-nasal drip, nasal congestion • Wet coughs, bronchitis, tuberculosis • Night sweats, clammy skin, fever with sweating • Diarrhea, dysentery • Bedwetting, nocturnal emissions, excessive menstruation, leucorrhea • Excess urination (e.g., in diabetes or enlarged prostate), albuminuria (protein in urine) • Chronic cystitis (inflamed bladder) • Edema (swollen tissue in general)

(Matthew Wood)

Sumac in Western Herbalism: Anxiety and Pain • Headache, occipital or associated with fever (Wood) • Anxiety, fear, panic, “desperation” (Wood) Sumac in Western Herbalism: Infection

• Mix with elderberries for fighting viral illness and treating flu and cold symptoms (Light, berries) • Gargle for mouth infections including canker sores, bleeding gums, strep throat, and dental infections (White, berries) • Soothes, shrinks, and disinfects muco- epithelial sores as a salve, glycerine tincture, or powered leaves alone (Moore, leaves) Sumac in Western Herbalism: Tonic

• Cooling drink, steeped, with or without sweetener (Moore, berries) • Culinary use, especially in za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice mix that includes ground sumac berries (Gold, Kolasa) • Teeth cleaner (Wood and White, twigs) • Blood strengthener, helps anemia (Light) • May help arthritis and high blood pressure (Wood) • Increases “good” cholesterol (Zahra et al. 2018)

Sumac in Western Herbalism: Plant parts • Berries, leaves, bark, and bark • Different herbalists have different preferences – Matthew Wood – bark or berries – Michael Moore - leaves – Phyllis D. Light – berries or unspecified – Adrian White – berries – Peter Holmes – root bark • Recommendation: choose based on apothecary stock, season of year (harvest bark in spring, berries in fall), needs of the person treated

Sumac Medicine: Preparations

• Ground berries or leaves alone or as salve • Infusion or decoction of berries, leaves, bark, or • Tincture of berries, leaves, bark, or root bark*

*In the laboratory, alcohol extractions were found to be better than water and hexane extractions against 11 types of bacteria (Saxena et al. 1994) Culinary or Tonic Sumac: “Sumac Lemonade” Culinary or Tonic Sumac: Za’atar Spice Mix • 1 part each • ground sumac berries • ground thyme • sesame seeds • optional: ground cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, coriander, fennel, and other secret ingredients Making Sumac Medicine: Drying Leaves Making Sumac Medicine: tincture

Tincture of ground, purchased sumac berries, probably the Middle Eastern tanners sumac,

5 oz menstruum (Everclear diluted with water to 40% alcohol) : 1 oz dry berries.

Delicious! Making Sumac Medicine: Bark tincture Making Sumac Medicine: Bark tincture Making Sumac Medicine: Bark tincture Making Sumac Medicine: Bark tincture Making Sumac Medicine: Bark tincture

4 oz menstruum (Everclear): 2 oz fresh bark References 1 of 2

• Fazeli, M. R., G. Amin, M.M.A Attari, H. Ashtiani, H. Jamalifar and N. Samadi 2007 Antimicrobial activities of Iranian sumac and avishan0e shirazi (Zataria multifora) against some food-borne bacteria. Food Control 18:646-649.

• Gold, Betty 2019 Meet Sumac, the Superfood Spice That'll Help You Fight Inflammation—and Bland Food—for Good. https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/ingredients-guide/sumac

• Holmes, Peter: 2007 The Energetics of Western Herbs: A Materia Medica Integrating Western and Chinese Herbal Therapies. 4th edition. Snow Lotus Press.

• Kartesz, J.T. 2015 The Biota of Program (BONAP). Taxonomic Data Center. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. http://bonap.net/napa.

• Kindscher, Kelly 1992 Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.

• Knight Jr., Vernon J. 1975 Some Observations Concerning Plant Materials and Aboriginal Smoking in Eastern North America. Journal of Alabama Archaeology 21(2): 120-144.

• Kosar, M., B. Bozan, F. Temelli and K.H.C.Baser 2007 Antioxidant activity and phenolic composition of sumac (Rhus coriaria L. (extracts Food Chemistry 103:952-959.

• Rima Kossah, Consolate Nsabimana, Jianxin Zhao, Haiqin Chen, Fengwei Tian, Hao Zhang and Wei Chen 2009 Comparative Study on the Chemical Composition of Syrian Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) and Chinese Sumac ( L.) Fruit. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 8 (10): 1570-1574. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 46033244_Comparative_Study_on_the_Chemical_Composition_of_Syrian_Sumac_Rhus_coriaria_L_and_Chinese_Sumac_Rhus_typhina_L_Fruits

References 2 of 2

• Light, Phyllis D. n.d. Making Medicinal Herbal Teas: Decoctions. https://www.phyllisdlight.com/making-medicinal-herbal-teas-decoctions/

• Moore, Michael 1989 Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.

• Nasar-Abbas, S. M. and A.K. Halkman 2004Antimicrobial effect of water extract of sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) on the growth of some food borne bacteria including pathogens. International Journal of Food Microbiology 97:63-69.

• Roemer, Ferdinand 2011 Roemer’s Texas with particular reference to German immigration and the physical appearance of the country. Translated by Oswald Mueller. Originally published 1935. Mockingbird Books Digital Editions.

• Saxena, G., A.R. McCutcheon, S. Farmer, G.H.N Towers, R.E.W. Hancock 1994 Journal of Ethnopharmacology 42:95-99.

• White, Adrian 2016 Sumac – Sour Power and Culinary Healing. https://iowaherbalist.com/2016/01/24/sumac-sour-power-and-culinary-healing/

• Wood, Matthew 2007 Indispensable Herbs IX. Sumach: The indispensible Drying Remedy. http://www.woodherbs.com/Sumach.html

• Zahra Hajmohammadi, Mojtaba Heydari, Majid Nimrouzi, Pouya Faridi, Mohammad Javad Zibaeenezhad, Gholamhossein Ranjbar Omrani, Mesbah Shams 2018 Rhus Coriaria L. Increases Serum apolipoprotein-A1 and High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial Journal of Integrative Medicine 2018 Jan;16(1):45-50. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29397092/

Appendix IS IT SUMAC? Sumacs and Central Texas Species with simple pinnate leaves

Not Sumacs Sumacs • Pecan, walnut, hickory • Winged sumac • Soapberry • Smooth sumac • Chinese pistache • Littleleaf sumac • Texas mountain laurel • Evergreen sumac • Heavenly bamboo • Lanceleaf sumac • of heaven • Aromatic sumac • Pink peppercorn tree Pecan, hickory, and walnut (Carya spp., Juglans spp.) • Young pecan leaf. Pecan, hickory, and walnut leaves have serrate edges. Central Texas sumacs don’t. Soapberry (Sapindus saponaria)

• Leaflets above the central veins are larger on the tip-ward side. Often missing the terminal leaflet. Leaflets not always perfectly opposite. Chinese pistache ( chinensis)

Tree with clear trunk when mature. Fruits along branches (axial), not at ends (terminal). Leaf rachis thin and wire-like. Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora)

Obovate leaflets (rounded tips). Usually shiny and thick.

Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica)

Photo by Gary Bachman, MSU Extension. Nandina isn’t really single pinnate. Check the lower leaflets for confirmation. Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

Up to 27 leaflets. Smells bad when crushed. Photo by Chuck Barger via U. Georgia. Pepper tree ( spp.)

• S. molle has any leaflets, not always exactly opposite; S. terebinthifolia has finely serrate leaves. • Source of commercial pink peppercorns. • Not currently listed outside cultivation in central Texas but invasive enough that this could change at any time. S. terebinthifolia is on the Texas Invasives list. S. molle photo via Pangaia Seeds