Sumacs offer a fuzzy, tasty local treat

By Codi Yeager
Sun staff writer
Many of us have seen or heard of the Sumac. It flourishes in much of Leelanau County, growing in large clumps of tropical looking green foliage. The Sumac is a small, twiggy tree with large compound leaves that turn bright red and yellow in the fall. The fuzzy branches and large clusters of red berries make it easy to recognize. The Sumac seems to prefer growing in fields or on the edge of forests, and is almost never seen in the middle of the woods. Typically, it only grows to be eight to 10 feet high, but some can become taller. Some of the tallest Sumacs in the county grow on the southwest corner of Benzonia Trail/County Rd. 677 and Glenmere Rd. near the Glen Lake Narrows. Their height reaches almost 35 feet.

The variety of sumac in Leelanau County is Rhus typhina, or “Staghorn Sumac”. The name refers to the stout, velvety branches that look similar to the antlers of a buck. These small shrub-like trees are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves in the fall. They spread by sending out long runners underground that grow up into tiny Sumac shoots. The resulting affect is a clump of connected sumacs with the older, taller plants near the center and the shorter, younger plants near the edge of the patch. The berries of the Sumac tree are bright red when ripe and grow in clusters resembling those of grapes. They are almost as fuzzy as the branches and almost perfectly round. The bark of the Sumac is a light grayish brown and the trunk is rarely very thick. The taller the tree, the thicker the trunk. The trunk itself is not fuzzy, but smooth and hard, with no roughness to speak of. The leaves can be up to two feet long with 10 or 12 leaflets. The leaflets are about two to three inches long and have a jagged edge, or margin. The jagged margin is a major difference between the Staghorn Sumac and the Poison Sumac. Poison Sumac has white berries as well, so the two varieties should not be confused for one another.
Unlike the Poison Sumac, the Staghorn Sumac is edible. One of the most delicious lemonades is made from the small red berries of the Staghorn Sumac. In order to make this lemonade, the berries must be ripe, so the season for this recipe is limited to late August to early October. If the berries are harvested too early, they will not have developed their flavor yet and the drink will turn a sickly green color and taste bitter. The best time to harvest the berries is when they are a dark, almost purple, red. They taste the best if they are harvested before heavy rains wash away their flavor. The berries are edible just off the tree, so feel free to taste around before choosing some with which to make your lemonade. The lemonade, if brewed right, will end up a light pink color. You can add sugar to sweeten the drink if you like. Besides being used as a drink, the Sumac can be used as an herbal remedy also. The variety Rhus aromatica, or “Sweet Sumac” can be used to cure bed-wetting and other urinary disorders. The root bark is used in a tincture along with corn silk and horsetail. Sumac can also be made into a wine if left to ferment. Sumac lemonade can be made into a jelly, or other berries can be boiled in it to liven up their taste. The soft, green inner bark of the Sumac tree is sweet to suck on too. Sumac is a good source of vitamin C, so the health benefits of eating it are good too.
Recipe for Sumac Lemonade
1. Gather about half a dozen clusters of ripe sumac berries.
2. Place them into a bowl or pitcher and pour cold water over them. (Use more water for a milder drink and less water for a stronger lemonade.)
3. Take a spoon or fork and crush the berries thoroughly.
4. Place the bowl in a cool place and let it sit for a while to let the berries infuse into the water. Let it sit longer for a stronger taste.
5. When the taste is to your liking, cover the container with cheesecloth and drain the liquid into another container. You can then throw away the remnants of the berries that have been trapped in the cheesecloth.
• If you want to sweeten your lemonade, you can add sugar until it is to your liking.
So if you are out on a hike in, or driving around Leelanau County and you happen to spot a short, tropical looking tree with red berry clusters, give it a taste. You might be surprised at what nature can offer.