Find Refreshing Tea Right Outside Your Door

by Patty Cormier

This is so good, I had to pass it along; Staghorn sumac tea!  Sumac (Rhus typhina) is common, well known and easily recognized.  These small trees with thick twigs and somewhat tropical appearance are familiar to many of us country folk.  Their shape and large dark upright red berry clusters are distinctive and the bright red autumn foliage is a welcome sight on a sunny fall day.  What fewer people know about it is that the fruit has provided a delicious and refreshing summer drink throughout much of the world for thousands of years, tea that’s high in vitamin A and C.

     Sumac forms large patches called clones; what looks like many trees or shrubs is actually a single plant, like a patch of rhubarb.  Large clones are tallest in the center, getting gradually shorter towards the outside, and have the habit of bearing leaves only at the canopy.  Sumac is native to Maine but not always welcome; it has the invasive-like characteristic of occupying the landscape.  It is considered a “problem” species, since it spreads quickly and keeps its competitors at bay by being alleleopathic - or simply put, chemically keeps others away through its root system.

     There is a poisonous cousin of Staghorn sumac called poison sumac, or Toxicodendron vernix.  I’ve never seen poison sumac.  It’s not native to Maine, and it’s easy to tell apart from Staghorn sumac.  The fruit of Staghorn is erect, red and fuzzy and in cluster, while poison sumac fruit is whitish and the berries hang singly.  Always truly identify what you are going to eat.

     Here is my simple recipe:  Fill a pitcher with the sumac flowers, cover with water, put in the refrigerator and let steep a couple of hours.  Once you see the nice red water, strain the flowers out and drink it as is, or add a little honey to sweeten.  Some people do boil the water before pouring over the flowers; it’s your choice, but that can make it a little bitter.  Be sure to pick the nice red mature fruit too.  Of course there is always sumac wine, or jelly.  Enjoy!