Slightly toxic?? - The opinions are divided
Effect:
hemostatic, astringent, antiseptic, tonic, diuretic, emetic
Areas of application:
It is rarely used in modern herbal medicine. Indian people: diseases of the lungs, wounds, internal complaints; An infusion is used to treat diarrhea, fever, hemorrhoids, general weakness, uterine prolapse, boils, asthma, stomatosis
Plant parts used:
Root, fruits, inner root bark
Collection time:
Autumn
To find:
In eastern North America, on nutrient-rich soils on sunny southern slopes.
Ingredients:
Tannins, ellagic acid
Miscellaneous:
The Staghorn Sumac is a shrub that grows between 3 and 5 meters high, but it can also grow up to 12 meters as a small tree. The wood is light, soft and brittle. The rather smooth bark of older trunks is grayish and slightly cracked to flaky. The alternate leaves are 20 to 60 cm long and divided into petioles and leaf clefts. They are greenish to reddish and more or less, shorter or longer and hairy on both sides. The unpaired leaf blade consists of 9 to 31 arranged leaflets. The upper side of the leaves is slightly shiny and green and the underside is dull and light green. The shape of the leaflets is ovoid, elliptical to oblong-lanceolate and sometimes sickle-shaped. The edge of the leaf is serrated unevenly, but the tip is toothed throughout. When the leaves change color in autumn they are first yellow, then orange and in October they are bright fire red. The flowers are clustered in terminal, upright, pyramidal and yellow-green, thyrsic-panicled and finely hairy inflorescences. The flower stalks are hairy and the single flowers with double perianths are fivefold. The green calyx is five-lobed, long-haired on the outside and bald on the inside. The slightly boat-shaped, elongated petals are yellowish-green on the male flowers and greenish and slightly hairy on the female flowers. Each flower has a showy, orange and lobed discus. The fruits are dry and red drupes. The small, single-seeded, egg-shaped to elliptical, somewhat flattened and smooth stone core is light brownish. The seeds are contained in the stone core.
🛑 All parts of the plant are often described as poisonous, although the toxicity is questionable. Oral intake of large quantities can lead to stomach and intestinal problems, the milky juice is said to cause skin inflammation on the skin, and splashes into the eyes can trigger conjunctivitis.
Some Native American tribes used the inner bark to produce a light yellow paint for war paint or to dye fabrics.
In the kitchen, the fruits are suitable as a spice, for making vinegar or for flavoring drinks, punches and desserts. A soft drink "Indian Lemonade" is made from water and the fruits, it has a high content of vitamin C.