Table of Contents
- Edible Uses of Staghorn Sumac
- Medicinal Uses of Staghorn Sumac
- Alternative Uses of “the Lemonade Tree”
- Growing Rhus Typhina
Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) is the “lemonadiest” and most vinegary of edible and medicinal shrubs. Staghorn sumac has been called the vinegar tree and the lemonade tree as its juice can be used as a substitute for vinegar or lemon juice.
The “staghorn” part comes from the velvety branches that somewhat resemble antlers. You’ll see below I seen a stag staying cool under a sumac bush. I wonder if he noticed the resemblance.
Edible Uses of Staghorn Sumac

It’s best to gather the lemony tasting berries just as the berry color has deepened in early Autumn and before much rain washes that red, hairy sumac goodness away. Being a chronic inventor of the wheel I boiled my berries the first time I made “sumacade”, and well, yuck. The tannins were overpowering. You just steep them! (Instructions below!)
Sumac berries are also useful dried for seasoning; if you have smooth (rhus glabra) or shining sumac (rhus copallinum) they may be preferable for this. (But people use staghorn too..) You have to sift out the seeds from the ground berries and discard the seeds. You’re left with a red, velvety fuzz – a lemony spice. You can use sumac spice for cooking, perhaps as a rub for lamb, fish or chicken. It’s also a treat sprinkled on hummus. In middle eastern cooking, a sumac from their neck of the woods is a prime ingredient in the spice mix za’atar. Birds like grosbeaks and ruffed grouse will eat the berries in the winter as a starvation food.
The peeled shoots, tips of new branches and suckers are also edible. However, I found them – young and old alike – far too fibrous and not at all sweet as I’ve heard from one source. Perhaps he was eating a different variety. The general consensus is that this part of the sumac is a starvation food. The white-tailed deer, moose and cotton-tailed rabbits here like it, however, and can take a nap in it’s cover after their meal. Can you spot the buck in the picture below?

Sumacade Recipe

A wild late summer thru early autumn treat is a cooling Staghorn Sumac tea.
You can dry the berries to make it any time of year, however, fresh is best. Ideally, when they peak in early autumn (timing may be different in other regions – I’m in Central Ontario, Canada) grab the red clusters of seeds before rains wash out some of their potency.
*Put the fresh hairy heads in a large container, cover with water, and mash and stir it for 10 minutes. Skip boiling. Boiling releases extra tannins making it unpalatable. But I’ve found some recipes that add boiled, hot water over the berries and let it cool.
*Strain through layers of cheesecloth to remove the fine hairs.
*Sweeten to taste, if you like. Perhaps with some local maple syrup? To really up the Canadi-anty try using maple sap in place of plain water in the recipe, if you don’t find maple sap too sweet.
In The Edible Wild there’s a sumac-ade recipe that’s a little different. They dissolve 4 cups of sugar in 2 gallons of water and then pour it over 5 lbs of crushed sumac berries and 2 quartered lemons. They let this cool and strain afterward.
Medicinal Uses of Staghorn Sumac
Staghorn sumac is primarily said to support these body systems:
- Integumentary
Medicinal tags include Antiseptic and Astringent. See Medicinal tag key for more information.
Common usage includes as a sumac-ade, unsweetened, it works as a gargle for a sore throat. This is due to its astringent properties. Its blackened, reduced juice has been used as an ingredient in salves for wounds and other skin issues due to its tannic and gallic acid content.
Alternative Uses of “the Lemonade Tree”
The leaves and fruit are boiled to make black ink. A range of colored dyes is possible from yellows to greys-black, using every part but the root. And of course, a red dye can be made from its crimson berry hairs.
The twigs can be soaked, scraped, split and soaked again to use for weaving. The wood can also be useful for crafts.
It perhaps goes without saying, but Staghorn sumac’s tannin-rich fruit, bark, and leaves can be used to tan hides.
Growing Rhus Typhina
Sumac will spread and spread and spread, especially in full sun. To get a similar look without such spread check out the native mountain ash! Both are native plants.
My go-to staghorn sumacs are on other folks properties because my little acre could be overwhelmed fast. During a hard winter, I won’t be surprised if one of my many grouse poo-plant it for me, though. I’ll be offering a free staghorn sumac plant to whoever chimes in first if that happens!
Admittedly, they are stunningly beautiful, especially in the Autumn when they turn fiery red, and perfect if you want to unleash a shrub that’ll spread fast.
If you do choose to plant, you’ll need a male and a female plant to get the berries. Gather berries late in the Autumn to winter sow, and hope for boys and girls.
On a creepy-crawly note – Sumac has its own aphid, the sumac leaf gall aphid (melaphis rhois) which isn’t very harmful to the sumac itself. I was surprised to wander upon a cluster of their galls which look much like a fungus:


WARNINGS
It’s is related to mangoes and cashews, so avoid if you are allergic to these.
If you are hypersensitive to poison ivy you may also be sensitive to staghorn sumac.
And the Usual Cautions:
1) Most medicinal herbs, if edible, are meant to be eaten in moderation, even sparingly. Some require extra preparation. Tannins are toxic if consumed in excess. Before taking any new supplements, you should consult with a healthcare professional.
2) A vast amount of these herbs are diuretic. (See the Medicinal tags above to check if this featured herb is one of them!) Diuretics are generally safe, but they can be risky for people with other medical conditions or who take certain medications. Please consult your doctor if you have any health conditions.
3) People can be allergic or sensitive to nearly any plant; try new herbs one at a time at your own risk. For instance, saponins commonly cause stomach upset.
4) For serious medicinal use, I must recommend receiving a diagnosis and working with a reputed health care provider. I generally do not post specific treatments and dosages because I think that is best between you and your health care provider, and ideally monitored.
5) Anyone pregnant, nursing, or taking prescription drugs should talk to a health care professional before adding new food items to their diet.
6) Many plants have look-a-likes, and sometimes they are poisonous.
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REFERENCES
My new favourite foraging book is Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: of Eastern and Central North America (The Sam Thayer’s Field Guides) Paperback – June 1, 2023 and this plant IS featured as one of the edible wild plants in this area. I highly recommend this guide for your bookshelves!
Rhus typhina Linnaeus – Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN)
http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/flora/staghorn-sumac.html
Trees of Ontario
How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts (Native American)
The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants
Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants (Out of Print)
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