Japanese name: AMERIKAHAZENOKI (SUMAKKU, NIOIURUSHI)
English name: staghorn sumac, velvet sumac, Virginian sumac
Scientific name:Rhus typhina (Rhus hirta)
Country of origin: Eastern North America
Description
It is a shrub or tall tree with a height of 7 m or higher, and leaves turn red and fall in autumn. The branches and petioles have velvet-like hair. The leaves are odd feather-like compound leaves that have a maximum length of approximately 40 cm with no wings attached to the leaf axis. There are 11-31 leaflets 5–12 cm in length with serrated teeth. The flowers are polygamous and rarely dioecious; it has upright conical inflorescence of 10-20 cm in length. In the Arid Land Research Center, it blooms from the end of May to early June. The fruit has red long filaments that open. It can be cultivated even in dry, barren soil. Propagation is performed by seeding or cutting (stem cutting or root cutting).
It is used for erosion prevention in the United States. The indigenous people soaked the sour fruit in water, added sugar, and was drank it instead of lemonade.
Uses:
Fruit (beverage), bark (tannins), leaf/branch/fruit (dyes)
References
Moerman, D.E. 2010．Native American Food Plants: An Ethnobotanical Dictionary.
Timber Press, Portland, London, UK.
Uva, R.H., Neal, J.C., Ditomaso, J.M. 1997. Weeds of Northeast. Cornell
University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA.
横井政人．1994．ウルシ属．塚本洋太郎（監修）．園芸植物大事典 1．pp.310-311．小学館、東京．
