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Rhus coriaria
Also called Tanner's Sumach, Elm Leaved Sumac, Sumac, Tanner's Sumac
Sicilian sumac is a deciduous shrub or small tree from the Mediterranean and western Asia, grown mainly for its sour dried fruit used as a spice. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, and tolerates drought well.
Rhus coriaria, commonly called Sicilian sumac, tanner's sumach, or elm-leaved sumach, is a deciduous shrub to small tree in the cashew family Anacardiaceae. It is native to southern Europe and western Asia. The dried fruits are used as a spice, particularly in combination with other spices in the mixture called za'atar.
Rhus coriaria is a hardy, drought-tolerant, deciduous shrub growing to 3 metres (10 ft) at a medium rate or to a small tree up to 5 m (16 ft) high. It prefers full sun. It is frost-sensitive and can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 8-11 and UK zone 9. The plant will grow in any type of soil that is deep and well-drained, including poor, rocky, alkaline or slightly acidic soils.
Rhus coriaria is native to southern Europe and western Asia, including the Eastern Mediterranean, Crimea, Caucasus and northern Iran, but is now naturalized in most of the Mediterranean Basin as well as Macaronesia.
The fruit has a sour taste; dried and crushed, it is a popular spice in the Middle East, used especially in the spice mixture za'atar. Immature fruits and seeds are also eaten. Mature fruits were also known well before lemons to the Europeans since the times of the ancient Romans, who appreciated its sourness and used it in vinaigrettes like lemons in modern times. It is traditionally used and also clinically investigated for lipid lowing effects.
Fragrant sumac · Chinese sumac · Winged sumac · Smooth sumac · Lemonade sumac · Sugar sumac · Skunkbush sumac · Staghorn sumac · Sumac
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rhus coriaria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
