Paleo Foraging

Rhus aromatica Aiton & Rhus trilobata Aiton

Notes – R. trilobata and R. aromatica are both accepted names, although they have been considered synonymous by some authors. R. aromatica covers the eastern half of the USA and R. trilobata covers the western half. They are very similar, and are confused in various publications, so I have combined them. Both occur in Travis Co., and can be distinguished by the glossier, smaller leaves of R. trilobata compared to the larger, more matte, and softer leaves of R. aromatica.

Synonyms: = Schmaltzia serotina, Schmaltzia trilobita

Common names: Fragrant sumac (R. aromatica), skunkbush sumac (R. trilobata), three-lobed sumac, lemonade berry, lemita, basketweed

Apache: tciłtci – “smelly wood” (Castetter and Opler 1936:62)

Cahuilla: selet (Bean and Saubel 1972:131)

Comanche: d̥atsip^v (Carlson and Jones 1939:524)

Gosiute: ai‘-tcĭb (Chamberlin 1911:379)

Hopi: cübi / sübi (Fewkes 1896:16, Hough 1897:40,42)
Jemez: jíɳpooh (Cook 1930:27)

Kiowa: dtie-ai-pa-yee-ʔgo – “bitter red berry” (Vestal and Schultes 1939:39)

Navajo: k’įi’ / tchiiłtchin (tchii – “red”) (Elmore 1944:61)

Northern Cheyenne: hoʔ atoonoʔ ėstse – “smoke issues” (Hart 1981:14)

Tewa: kun (Robbins et al. 1916:49)

Location in Texas: all TX except further S; common in Travis Co.

Form: shrub.

Season: flowers (white, yellow) Mar-June.

Food

Fruits – eaten by the Shasta (Dixon 1907), Tewa (Robbins et al. 1916:49), Jemez (Cook 1930:27), Isleta (Jones 1931:41), Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:40), Gosiute (Chamberlin 1911:379), Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache (Castetter and Opler 1936:37,46), Navajo (Elmore 1944:61), Cahuilla (Barrows 1967:64, Bean and Saubel 1972:132), and Hopi (Fewkes 1896:16).

These fruits were eaten by the Kiowa with salt when they were green, and they were eaten fresh or dried when ripe (Vestal and Schultes 1939:40). They were dried, ground, and mixed with sugar for making a jam (Vestal and Schultes 1939:40). The fruits were an important part of the Kiowa diet (Vestal and Schultes 1939:72). They were eaten whole or ground by the Tewa (Robbins et al. 1916:49) and Navajo (Elmore 1944:61).

After grinding them, water and sugar was added to make a drink (Elmore 1944:61). A drink of the fruits was made by Western Apache (Mails 1974). They were eaten fresh by the Cahuilla, or they were dried, ground into meal, and soaked in water to make a drink (Barrows 1967:64, Bean and Saubel 1972:132). The fresh fruits were mashed in water by the Kiowa to make a refreshing drink or were boiled to make a tea (Vestal and Schultes 1939:40).

The fruits were ground into meal by the Cahuilla to use in soup (Bean and Saubel 1972:132). Sometimes, they were cooked by the Navajo with cornmeal to make a gruel (Elmore 1944:61). They were sometimes mixed with re-hydrated dried cooked agave (Agave spp.) hearts by the Apache or were eaten with sunflower seed bread (Castetter and Opler 1936:37,46). The fruits were sun-dried, ground between flat stones, and the meal boiled by the Apache to make a jam (Castetter and Opler 1936:46). This jam was often eaten with sunflower seed cakes (Castetter and Opler 1936:49).

To make a drink with the fresh fruits, I lightly mash them in a mortar and pestle, mix the mash with water, and immediately strain it to make a delicious, sweet, and tart drink. For long-term use, I dry the fruits (either at room temperature or at the lowest setting in my oven), then grind them with a cheap coffee grinder and store them in a jar. This powder can be added to water with or without straining to make a sweet and tart drink. This powder can also be used as a cooking spice, as sumac (Rhus coraria) fruit powder is used as a spice in many delicious Middle Eastern recipes.

Gathering Season – fruits: May-July (Bean and Saubel 1972:132); midsummer to fall (Castetter and Opler 1936:46).

Medicine

Fruits – were dried, finely powdered, and applied to open sores from smallpox, or water added to the powder to make a lotion to apply to dry pox in the early 1800’s by California Natives (Chesnut 1902). Whole fruits were eaten by the Kiowa as a cure for “stomach trouble” and flu (Vestal and Schultes 1939:40). The fruits were eaten by the Cahuilla to stimulate appetite (Bean and Saubel 1972:132). Fruits were chewed by the Northern Cheyenne to relieve toothache (Hart 1981:14).

Buds – considered medicinal by the Hopi (Fewkes 1896:16, Hough 1897:42).

Leaves – were dried and mixed with tobacco for smoking by the Northern Cheyenne (Hart 1981:14) and Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:40). A decoction was used by the Mexican Kickapoo for bathing a woman four days after giving birth (Latorre and Latorre 1977:351). The leaves were crushed and applied to sores by the Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:351). A decoction was drunk to treat colic and stomach ulcers (Latorre and Latorre 1977:351). A decoction was gargled as a mouth wash for halitosis (Latorre and Latorre 1977:351). Unspecified preparations were used by the Northern Cheyenne to clear up head colds and to stop bleeding (Hart 1981:14). A decoction was drunk by the Northern Cheyenne as a diuretic (Hart 1981:14).

Leaves & bark – a decoction, plus the leaves and bark of evergreen sumac (Rhus virens), was drunk instead of water for 40 days after giving birth by the Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:348). The root of camphor daisy (Heterotheca subaxillaris) was sometimes included in this decoction (Latorre and Latorre 1977:348).

Bark – chewed and the juice swallowed by the Comanche to treat colds (Carlson and Jones 1939:524,534). It was chewed by the Jemez to treat sore gums (Cook 1930:27).

Material

Leaves & twigs (dye) – in combination with piñon pine sap and yellow ochre, the sumac leaves and twigs were used by the Navajo to make a black dye (Elmore 1944:21). The ochre was powdered and roasted, piñon sap was added, then the mixture was roasted to a black powder, cooled, and added to a strong decoction of sumac leaves, forming an ink-like dye in which wool and leather was boiled to color it (Elmore 1944:21). It was generally used by the Navajo as a mordant in dyeing (Elmore 1944:108).

Shoots (basketry) – used for basketry by the Tewa (Robbins et al. 1916:49), Jemez (Cook 1930:27), Natives in southern California (Chesnut 1902), Navajo (Elmore 1944:61), Hopi (Fewkes 1896:16, Hough 1897:40), Timbasha (Coville 1892:358), and Cahuilla (Bean and Saubel 1972:132). Shoots were split lengthwise into three parts for basketry (Elmore 1944:61). They were used by the Navajo to make basketry water bottles (Elmore 1944:61). Shoots were used by the Western Apache for basketry material, especially as wefts (Mails 1974). Basketry water bottles (“tus”) were made of these shoots and covered in pine pitch by the Apache (Mails 1974). The shoots were split and used for the wrap, with a coil of muhly grass (Muhlenbergia sp.), in the coiled basketry of the Cahuilla (Barrows 1967:42, Bean and Saubel 1972:132). Shoots were soaked in water to soften them, the bark was scraped off, and the shoots were split by the Cahuilla using their mouths and hands (Bean and Saubel 1972:132). These splints were soaked in an infusion of elderberry (Sambucus sp.) fruit bunches for a week or so to dye them a deep black (Barrows 1967:42, Bean and Saubel 1972:132). Small rolls of grass stems were tightly wrapped, coiled on top of one another, and a bone awl used to pierce the grass rolls of sequential coil layers, into which the sumac shoots were inserted to attach them in a wrapping design (Bean and Saubel 1972:132). Such baskets held water and were used to cook in with hot stones (Bean and Saubel 1972:132).

Shoots (arrows) – small sticks were used as arrow foreshafts, with an arrowpoint affixed to one end and the other end being sharpened and driven into a common reed (Phragmites australis) main shaft (Elmore 1944:61).

Bark (incense) – placed in hot water and the fumes inhaled in the sweat houses of the Comanche (Carlson and Jones 1939:538-539).

Wood (bows) – used for bows by the Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:40), Tewa (Robbins et al. 1916:49), and Navajo (Elmore 1944:61).

Ashes (dye) – used by the Navajo to set dyes (Elmore 1944:61).

Experimentation

I have eaten the fruits many times. They are tart, sweet, and tasty.

They are excellent mashed fresh, soaked in water for a few minutes, and strained to make sumac-ade.

I also dry them in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour, then grind them up in a cheap coffee grinder. I mix this fruit meal with water and soak it for a while to make sumac-ade. I also like to add it to my smoothies. It can be used as a spice in some cuisines.

The split shoots, soaked in water, are very flexible, so can be used for some coiled grass basketry I have attempted.

The fruits of Rhus lanceolata are very similar and I have used them for food in the same ways. Those occur in larger clusters, making it easier to gather more quickly. The leaves of that species also appear to have similar antimicrobial properties, and I have successfully used them to treat sore throat by chewing a handful and swallowing the juice till it was depleted a few times per day.