Sumac
Description
Any of several species of flowering plants or shrubs in the Rhus family such as R. glabra, R. cotinus, R. coggygria (Venetian sumac or young fustic), R. typhina (American staghorn sumac), R. copallina (winged sumac), and R. coriaria (Sicilian sumac), that are native to the temperate and subtropical areas of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The young, straight sumac shoots and twigs were often used by native Americans for the stiff, vertical warp when making winnowing tray, carrying baskets and water jugs
Sumac plants produce tannin containing dye that has been used worldwide since ancient times. The berries, leaves, and bark are used for vegetable tanning of leathers and as red, black and yellow shades of dye. Sumac contains high levels of tannins (25 - 30%) and fisetin. The tannins are extracted from dried young twigs which are gathered before the plant has flowered. The leaves are beaten from the twigs and used separately as a dye. Berries, fermented or fresh, produce different shades of tan, red, and black depending on the variety of sumac. Iron mordants are used with sumac to produce black silk. Sumac itself is used as a mordant for cotton and flax fibers to afix other types of dyes, such as coal tar dyes.
- See also [Uemera Dye Archive]: Haze no ki (1); Haze no ki (163); Haze no ki (175)
Synonyms and Related Terms
Rhus cotinus; Rhus coggygria (Venetian sumac or young fustic); Rhus typhina (American staghorn sumac), Rhus copallina (winged sumac or shining sumac); Rhus coriaria (Sicilian sumac); Rhus glabra (smooth sumac); Gerberbaum (Deut.); sommacco (It.); zumaque de Sicilia (Esp.); smack (Ned.); sumak (Dan., Ned.); sumac (Fr.); Rhus (Deut., Fr.); shumack; shoemack; sumach; dyer's sumac; tanner's sumac
Physical and Chemical Properties
- Tree height = 1-10 m
- Leaves = pinnate
- Flowers = occur in panicles with small petals
- Fruits: dense clusters of berries, each cover with hairs.
Other Images
Winged Sumac Rhus copallinum
Powdered sumac leaves
Sumac dyed fabric
Haze no ki (163)
Resources and Citations
- J.Hofenk-de Graaf, Natural Dyestuffs: Origin, Chemical Constitution, Identification, Central Research Laboratory for Objects of Art and Science, Amsterdam, September 1969.
- R.J. Adrosko, Natural Dyes in the United States, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1968
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 786
- Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986
- Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982
- Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "sumac" [Accessed October 9, 2001].
- F. Crace-Calvert, Dyeing and Calico Printing, Palmer & Howe, London, 1876
- J. Thornton, 'The Use of Dyes and Colored Varnishes in Wood Polychromy', Painted Wood: History and Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 1998
- Wikipedia: Sumac Accessed May 2026
- The Plant Lady: select Natural Dye Table