Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Bright-red foliage makes the sumac an October standout. The long, feather-compound leaves have 11 or more toothed leaflets and resemble walnut leaves. The sumacs in my backyard have 13 pairs of opposite leaflets plus one at the tip. Sometimes you can find green, yellow, orange and red leaves all on the same small tree.

The common species is the Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina), named for its resemblance to fuzzy deer antlers before the velvet shreds. As the leaves fall away, the dense spikes of bright red fruits on female trees add a much needed dab of color to an increasingly drab New York landscape. The hairy seeds are acidic (specifically malic acid) and this helps them last into the winter as other fruits disappear. Because the dry sumac berries are thin fleshed, birds may ignore them until other foods become scarce. On the other hand, the acidity allows you to make pseudo-lemonade from the fruit clusters. Be sure to strain out all of the seeds.

Sumac is naturally introduced into old fields via seeds dropped by birds. Once started, a sumac begins spreading by underground runners, but it is a short-lived shrub or small tree and the center of the developing sumac grove soon dies.  By then other shrubs and trees are beginning to colonize the abandoned land and sumac has a hard time growing in any shade. Sumacs seldom exceed 15 feet in height so they fade away as other trees take over. The dead sumac “skeletons” resemble mule deer antlers.

Native Americans found many medicinal uses for sumac.  Leaf tea was used to treat asthma and diarrhea or gargled for sore throats.  A drink made from the bark could stimulate milk production in new mothers.  The roots provided remedies for dysentery and bleeding.  Berries were turned into cough syrup or made into tea for lung ailments, and Indians were the first to make sumac “lemonade.”