Ragweed
Plantain
Dogwood
Violets
Sycamore
Chickweed
Sumac, Smooth
Name: Sumac, Smooth
Botanical Name: Rhus glabra
Form: Shrub, or some sumac species are small trees
Parts Used: Berries and browse
Citation: Guenther, K. (2019, March 1) Smooth sumac as wildlife food [Web log post.] Retrieved: supply the date, from http://wildfoods4wildlife.com
Getting Started:
Sumac is 8th on our Fabulous Fruit List, and it is an easy beginner forager plant to collect. But there are couple of safety issues to consider. It is 43rd on the Best Browse List.
Anacardiaceae (the Cashew or Sumac family)
Rhus (the Cashew or Sumac genus)
AND
Toxicodendron (the Poison ivy, Poison oak, Poison sumac family.) Another common wildlife food genus, related to sumac.
Since there are poisonous plants in the Anacardiaceae family, and since poison sumac does resemble some of the above listed sumacs during its foliage stage, care should be taken when foraging. But the fruit stage of the Rhus sumacs and their Toxicodendron cousins—poison sumac, poison ivy and poison oak of the Toxicodendron genus— look pretty different. The three poisonous plants all have white-yellow berries, while the sumacs you are seeking have red fruits. That being said, there are some people who have allergies to the cashew family generally (cashews, mangoes, pistachios), and if you have these sensitivities, then you should avoid handling ANY of the Rhus species.
To give you an idea how concerned you need to be about the risk of encountering the poison sumac in your environs, go to the USDA website http://plants.usda.gov/checklist.html, enter the scientific name Toxicodendron vernix, then put a checkmark in your state’s box, scroll down and click on display results. Then zoom in on your state until the individual counties display in green. If you indeed do have poison sumac in your county, spend some time doing additional research with the resources listed below until you feel more comfortable with identification, so you don’t come home from foraging scratching a budding rash.
The poison sumac tree (Toxicodendron vernix) is found only in very wet soils, like swamps and marshes—which is a big clue, because the sumacs we are seeking are usually in drier soils. In the fruit stage, poison sumac has white berries that hang dangling downward, while the flower and fruit clusters of all the Rhus species are orange to red and stand upward in tight clusters. So I don’t think you will confuse the fruits.
But identifying sumacs by foliage alone is harder. Nowadays, the most frequently seen tree that one could confuse with a sumac is the non-native, invasive and otherwise nasty Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima.) Tree-of-Heaven that is three to six years old is the same size as sumac, but will never produce the berry cluster. Tree-of-Heaven produces a very different seedpod, a tassle of winged seeds in July or August, generally before sumac berries mature. Wearing disposable or washable gloves, run or crush a leaf of Tree-of-Heaven in your through hand—gloved so in case it is poison sumac you will not have skin contact. Tree of Heaven crushed leaves have a strong peanut-like smell, which is an easy identifier. Also, if you look at the base of a leaflet off one of the compound leaves, Tree-of-Heaven has an odd large tooth near the base of its leaflet. Sumac does not have this extra large tooth.
Again, if you find a sumac-looking foliage in a marshy wet spot, do not touch any part of this tree in any season with bare hands. Doublecheck your identification first.
Common name | Virginia Rhus Species | Origin | Rare Plant Status |
fragrant sumac | R. aromatica | native | yes, in some states (not Virginia) |
winged sumac | R.copallinum | native | Not rare |
smooth sumac | R.glabra | native | Not rare |
false poison sumac | R.michauxii | native | globally vulnerable, critically imperiled in Virginia, and is endangered with extinction. |
staghorn sumac | R. typhina | native | Not rare |
Virginia Botanical Associates. (Accessed November 2015). Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www.vaplantatlas.org). c/o Virginia Botanical Associates, Blacksburg.
USDA, NRCS. 2015. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 6 November 2015). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Key Features to look for: In addition to using the identification guide of your choice, here are a couple of features you should see on this plant:
- Upright clusters of fuzzy, round red fruits
- Stout stems and twigs
- Grows in colonies
- About 30 leaflets per leaf and will have a terminal leaflet straight out the tip of the leaf
- Leaves are toothed and sword-shaped
About this Species: I am lucky enough to have found smooth, fragrant, winged and staghorn sumac all in my area! I love the brilliant red-orange leaves which start to turn into color just at the time the berries ripen. Eventually the leaves will drop and the berry clusters will be left standing alone to face winter as an easily recognizable winter silhouette. Smooth sumac often grows in stands and seems to like sunny banks.
The fruit is persistent on the shrub into winter. So while sumac fruit is not really a favorite wildlife food, it is an important winter survival food.
Flower Description: Clusters of flowers are small, yellow-green and each flower forms into a berry on the erect cluster.
Leaf Description: The large total leaf is made up of 31 leaflets that are toothed. The leaflets arrange themselves opposite each other along the leaf stem (the petiole), with one extra leaflet at the leaf tip—an arrangement known as being pinnately compound. If you examine the whole leaf closely, you’ll see that the leaflets attach somewhat on the top side of the stem, so that the bulk of the stem is below the plane of the leaf. See photos in cross section.
The leaves themselves alternate along the branch. Stems are reddish in color.
Fruit Size: Each berry within the larger fruit cluster is about 1/8 inch (3.5 mm), round, red and velvety. Each berry contains a single hard, gray-brown, pointy egg-shaped seed within.
Harvest Calender:
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||||||
winter | winter | late winter | early spring | spring | late spring | early summer | summer | late summer | early fall | fall | late fall | |||||||||||||
fruit | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||||||||||||
browse | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||||||||
Does this lend itself to being a good enrichment item? Yes! If a portion of a branch, leaves and berry cluster are harvested as one, the branch can be set up in a durable, weighted, dry vase and allow the birds to forage the berries off the plant at will. Sumac berries are a dry, long lasting food source well into winter, so you don’t have to worry about the fruits rotting, souring or fermenting. They will retain more of their nutritive value, though, if they remain dry. So set up the vase under a roof in the enclosure.
Nutrition: Smooth sumac berries probably have their peak nutrition shortly after they ripen, even though you can harvest them into winter. The berries are high in calcium and potassium. (Elpel, 2013). But they are overall low in energy and protein (Johnson, 2000). Exposed to rain and snow over time, some nutrients are washed away.
Harvesting Fruit: Using pruning shears or scissors, cut off the berry cluster once it is deep red in color.
How to Store Prepared Fruit: You can remove berries off the cluster or keep the whole berry cluster intact. The moisture content of sumac is very low, so they are not likely to mold if kept in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. Due to low moisture they freeze well kept in an airtight container. Or if they are moist from weather, you can air dry them for 1 week in a paper bag and then store them in a glass airtight container at room temperature. Use within 1 year.
Rare Species in Virginia
False poison sumac (R. michauxii) is a plant globally threatened with extinction, so it should not be harvested at all. It is found in Dinwiddie, Brunswick and Nottoway counties of Virginia (especially in and around the Ft. Pickett area) as well as North Carolina and Georgia. Foragers in those areas should avoid sumac harvesting unless they have high confidence of their identification skills and have thoroughly familiarized themselves with the local species.
County in Virginia | Species | Alert |
Brunswick | false poison sumac | Globally vulnerable, critically imperiled in Virginia, and is endangered with extinction. |
Dinwiddie | false poison sumac | Globally vulnerable, critically imperiled in Virginia, and is endangered with extinction. |
Nottoway | false poison sumac | Globally vulnerable, critically imperiled in Virginia, and is endangered with extinction. |
(Townsend, John F. 2015)
This chart may help you identify species:
Common name | Botanical Name | Plant height | Stem | Leaf | Leaf margin | Main axis of leaf (rachis) |
false poison sumac | R.michauxii | mature height is 3 feet or shorter | long hairs on stem | hairy leaflet blades | coarsely toothed or doubly toothed | winged only toward the tip of the leaf |
fragrant sumac | R. aromatic | mature height can be 6 feet | smooth or very fine down on stems | smooth leaflet blades | lobed | no wings |
winged sumac | R.copallinum | mature height can be 30 feet | very fine down on stems | smooth leaflet blades | smooth, no teeth | winged all along the main axis of the leaf |
smooth sumac | R.glabra | mature plants can be 20-35 feet | hairless stem | smooth leaflet blades | finely toothed, irregularly | no wings |
staghorn sumac | R. typhina | mature plants can be 20-35 feet | long hairs on stem | smooth leaflet blades | finely toothed | no wings |
(Weakly, Ludwig and Townsend, 2012) |
Sumac Fruit Caution: The milky sap of Rhus spp. might for some people cause a mild contact dermititis, but not on the order of poison ivy.(Burrows, G.E. & Tyrl, R.J., 2013) | ||
Cottontail, Eastern | Sylvilagus floridanus | strong preference |
Deer, White-tailed | Odocoileus virginianus | |
Hare, Snowshoe | Lepus americanus | |
Opossum, Virginia | Didelphis virginiana | |
Raccoon, Northern | Procyon lotor | |
Squirrel, American Red | Tamiasciurus hudsonicus | |
Squirrel, Eastern Fox | Sciurus niger | |
Squirrel, Eastern Gray | Sciurus carolinensis | |
Woodrat, Allegheny | Neotoma magister | |
Bluebird, Eastern | Sialia sialis | strong preference |
Phoebe, Eastern | Sayornis phoebe | strong preference |
Robin, American | Turdus migratorius | strong preference |
Starling, European | Sturnus vulgaris | strong preference |
Cardinal, Northern | Cardinalis cardinalis | |
Catbird, Gray | Demetella carolinensis | |
Chat, Yellow-bellied | Icteria virens | |
Chickadee, Black-capped | Poecile atricapilla | |
Crow, American | Corvus brachyrhynchos | |
Dove, Mourning | Zenaida macroura | |
Flicker, Northern | Colaptes auratus | |
Grosbeak, Evening | Coccothraustes vespertinus | |
Jay, Blue | Cyanocitta cristata | |
Junco, Dark-eyed | Junco hyemalis | |
Kinglet, Ruby-crowned | Regulus calendula | |
Mockingbird, Northern | Mimus polyglottos | |
Sparrow, White-throated | Zonotrichia albicollis | |
Tanager, Scarlet | Piranga olivacea | |
Thrasher, Brown | Toxostoma rufum | |
Thrush, Hermit | Catharus guttatus | |
Thrush, Swainson’s | Catharus ustulatus | |
Thrush, Wood | Hylocichla mustelina | |
Titmouse, Tufted | Baeolophus bicolor | |
Veery | Catharus fuscescens | |
Vireo, Red-eyed | Vireo olivaceus | |
Vireo, Warbling | Vireo gilvus | |
Vireo, White-eyed | Vireo griseus | |
Warber, Tennessee | Vermivora peregrina | |
Warbler, Pine | Dendroica pinus | |
Warbler, Yellow-rumped | Dendroica coronata | |
Waxwing, Cedar | Bombycilla cedrorum | |
Woodpecker, Downy | Picoides pubescens | |
Woodpecker, Pileated | Dryocopus pileatus | |
Woodpecker, Red-headed | Melanerpes erythrocephalus | |
Wren, Carolina | Thyryothorus ludovicianus | |
Bobwhite, Northern | Colinus virginianus | |
Grouse, Ruffed | Bonasa umbellus | |
Grouse, Sharp-tailed | Tympanuchus phasianellus | |
Partridge, Gray | Perdix perdix | |
Pheasant, Ring-necked | Phasianus colchicus | |
Turkey, Wild | Meleagris gallopavo |
Sumac Browse Caution: The milky sap of Rhus spp. might for some people cause a mild contact dermititis, but not on the order of poison ivy.(Burrows, G.E. & Tyrl, R.J., 2013) | ||
Cottontail, Eastern | Sylvilagus floridanus | strong preference |
Deer, White-tailed | Odocoileus virginianus | |
Hare, Snowshoe | Lepus americanus | |
Moose | Alces americanus | |
Squirrel, American Red | Tamiasciurus hudsonicus |
On-line References:
Johnson, Kathleen A. 2000. Rhus glabra. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, |
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). |
Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [2016, December 21]. |
USDA, NRCS. 2015. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 6 November 2015). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Virginia Botanical Associates. (Accessed November 2015). Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www.vaplantatlas.org). c/o Virginia Botanical Associates, Blacksburg.
Book References:
Elpel, T.J. (2013) Botany in a Day (APG). Pony, Montana: Hops Press, LLC.
Martin, A.C., Zim, H.S., Nelson, A.L. (1951). American Wildlife and Plants: A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits. New York: Dover Publications.
Newcomb, L. (1977). Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Peterson, L.A.(1977). A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants if Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Peterson, R.T., McKenny, M. (1968). Wildflowers: Northeastern/North-central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scott, M. (2013). Songbird Diet Index. National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, St. Cloud, MN.
Weakly, A.S., Ludwig, J.C., & Townsend, J.F. (2012) Flora of Virginia. Fort Worth, Texas: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press.