Dwarf Sumach, Winged sumac, Flameleaf Sumac, Winged Sumac, Shining Sumac
Rhus copallina

Family: Anacardiaceae

What it is like

This is an incorrect spelling and should be Rhus copallinum L. Bloom Color: Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Rounded, Upright or erect.

Rhus copallina is a deciduous Shrub growing to 2 m (6ft) by 2 m (6ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from October to December. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Bees. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Height (m): 2

Where it is found

Generally found in dry soils on hillsides, along the margins of woodlands and roads, and in abandoned fields.

Eastern N. America - Maine to Florida, west to Texas and Illinois.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Canada, Central America, Cuba, Indonesia, North America*, Pakistan, SE Asia, USA,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Fruit - raw or cooked. An agreeable acid flavour. The fruit is only 3 - 5mm long with very little flesh, but it is borne on dense panicles and is thus easily harvested. When soaked for 10 - 30 minutes in hot or cold water it makes a very refreshing lemonade-like drink (without any fizz of course). The mixture should not be boiled since this will release tannic acids and make the drink astringent.

Oil: Oil

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 2

A decoction of the root has been used in the treatment of dysentery. An infusion of the roots has been used in the treatment of VD. A poultice of the root has been applied to sores and skin eruptions. A tea made from the bark has been drunk to stimulate milk flow in nursing mothers. A decoction of the bark has been used as a wash for blisters and sunburn blisters. An infusion of the leaves has been used to cleanse and purify skin eruptions. The berries were chewed in the treatment of bed-wetting and mouth sores. Some caution is advised in the use of the leaves and stems of this plant, see the notes above on toxicity.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Enuresis: Treats bed wetting.

Galactogogue: Promotes the flow of milk in a nursing mother.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Salve: Soothes and heals damaged skin.

Other

Rating: 3

The leaves are rich in tannin, so is the bark and the fruit. The leaves can be collected as they fall in the autumn and used as a brown dye or as a mordant. The leaves contain 10 - 25% tannin. Up to 35.8% has been obtained from some plants. An oil is extracted from the seeds. It attains a tallow-like consistency on standing and is used to make candles. These burn brilliantly, though they emit a pungent smoke. The plants extensive root system makes it useful for stabilizing soils. A black dye is obtained from the fruit. A resin, 'copal resin', is obtained from the sap of this plant. When dissolved in any volatile liquid, such as oil of turpentine, it makes a beautiful varnish. (Is this a mistaken entry? Perhaps it belongs with one of the toxic species). Wood - light, soft, coarse grained. It weighs 32lb per cubic foot. Sometimes used for small posts.

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

Hedge: Plants that can be grown as hedges.

Mordant: Used for making a dye more permanent, it also affects the colour of the dye.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Resin: Used in perfumery, medicines, paints, soap making etc. This also includes turpentine, which is extracted from many resins and used as a preservative, water proofer etc,

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.

Varnish: Plants that can be used as a varnish without any special treatment. Does not include varnishes made from oils etc.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Experimental Crop: Plant breeders are testing these plants to see if they could be domesticated for cultivation, but they are still in an experimental phase. Examples include milkweed and leafy spurge.

Industrial Crop: Dye: Botanical dyes replacing synthetic dyes (known as heavy polluters).

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Industrial Crop: Tannin: Occur generally in the roots, wood, bark, leaves, and fruit of many plants. Used in tanning leather, dyeing fabric, making ink, and medical applications.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Industrial Crop: Dye: Botanical dyes replacing synthetic dyes (known as heavy polluters).

Industrial Crop: Tannin: Occur generally in the roots, wood, bark, leaves, and fruit of many plants. Used in tanning leather, dyeing fabric, making ink, and medical applications.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Hedge: Hedge

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Border, Erosion control, Pest tolerant, Massing, Specimen. Succeeds in a well-drained fertile soil in full sun. Tolerates poor soils. Established plants are drought resistant. A very hardy species, when fully dormant it can tolerate temperatures down to about -25°c. However, the young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts. A very ornamental plant. It is quite fast-growing but short-lived in the wild. In the north of its range plants are dwarf, around 1.2 metres tall, but in the south they can be up to 7 metres tall. Some botanists divide this species into separate species, whilst others see it as a single species with geographical forms. R. copallina is usually a shrub and is found in moist soils in sun or shade. R. copallina lanceolata. Gray. is more tree-like and is found in drier soils. Transplants easily. Plants have brittle branches and these can be broken off in strong winds. Plants are also susceptible to coral spot fungus. Many of the species in this genus are highly toxic and can also cause severe irritation to the skin of some people, whilst other species such as this one are not poisonous. It is relatively simple to distinguish which is which, the poisonous species have axillary panicles and smooth fruits whilst non-poisonous species have compound terminal panicles and fruits covered with acid crimson hairs. The toxic species are sometimes separated into their own genus, Toxicodendron, by some botanists. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Special Features:Attracts birds, North American native, Attracts butterflies, Attractive flowers or blooms. Carbon Farming - Cultivation: experimental. Management: coppice. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 9 through 5. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a running thicket former forming a colony from shoots away from the crown spreading indefinitely. The root pattern is flat with shallow roots forming a plate near the soil surface. The root pattern is suckering with new plants from underground runners away from the plant.

Propagating it: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in hot water (starting at a temperature of 80 - 90c and allowing it to cool) prior to sowing in order to leach out any germination inhibitors. This soak water can be drunk and has a delicious lemon-flavour. The stored seed also needs hot water treatment and can be sown in early spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Root cuttings 4cm long taken in December and potted up vertically in a greenhouse. Good percentage. Suckers in late autumn to winter.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Hedge;

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 4-10

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

There are some suggestions that the sap of this species can cause a skin rash in susceptible people, but this has not been substantiated. See also notes in 'Cultivation Details'.

Its other names

Local names

Black sumac, Flameleaf sumac, Mountain sumac, Pohon sumak amerika, Shining sumac, Winged sumac,

Synonyms

Rhus copallinum L. Rhus copallinum var. copallinum.

Dwarf Sumach, Winged sumac, Flameleaf Sumac, Winged Sumac, Shining Sumac Rhus copallina