SUMACH
(Rhus coriaria)
Appearance
This is a shrub 1-3 metres tall, with toothed leaflets
smooth above and velvety below, reddening in autumn. Branches and leaf
stalks are hairy. Juice is milky and flowers whitish in long dense erect
spikes appearing from June to July. Fruit clustered in a spike of globular
berries, brown, purple and hairy.
Habitat
Locally common in the Troodos range in vineyards and on stony
mountain sides from 2,000 ft to 6,000 ft.
Uses and Properties
The fruits of the sumach are eaten like capers in the
Eastern Mediterranean and also used as a spice, in for example
souvlaki. Dried fruits used against diarrhoea and in the treatment of
dermatitis. Tons of leaves are collected every year and processed for the
production of a tan used in the preparation of leather and for the
making of a natural yellow dye. The juice of this plant is poisonous.
