Medicinal Monday - Surprising Winged Sumac

Winged sumac is a species of the flowering plant in the cashew family that is native to the eastern United States. Native Americans found a number of uses for this plant from ceremonial to medicinal.

About Winged Sumac

Winged, shining or flame sumac is a deciduous tree that grows up to 18 feet tall and has underground runners that spread to provide a dense, shrubby cover for birds and wildlife.  This shrub can be found in New England south to Alabama and Florida. 

The trunk of this plant is short and crooked with open branching. The lustrous dark green foliage of this plant is noted for its beauty.  In the fall the leaves turn a brilliant red-orange. This plant has tiny greenish-yellow flowers in the summer that are followed by showy red clusters of berries in the fall that can tolerate the winter temperatures. This tree is easily distinguished from other sumacs by its winged leaf axis and watery sap.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses of Winged Sumac

The Cherokee eat the red berries to make them vomit!  They also use a decoction of the bark to treat burns and blisters.  The Creek make a decoction of the root to treat dysentery and the Koasati make a  bath for babies from a decoction of leaves to help them learn how to walk. The Delaware apply a poultice of roots to treat skin eruptions and sores. The Oklahoma and Delaware use the leaves and roots in a ceremonial tobacco mixture and the Ojibwa use the bark and berries in medicinal ceremonies. 

Did You Know...

Winged Sumac is sometimes planted as an ornamental because of its shiny leaves and pretty fruit.

The berries of the winged sumac provide winter food for game birds, songbirds and large and small mammals. Butterflies nectar the flowers.

Its bark is eaten by rabbits.

The leaves of this plant provide nesting material for bees, and sometimes bees actually nest in these plants that are often found in thickets.