Sumac
If you spend time outdoors, chances are you have been bothered by poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac at some point. Most people are sensitive to the plants' oily sap. The sap is in the root, stems, leaves and fruit of these plants. If it gets on your skin, it causes a blistering skin rash. The rash can range from mild to severe, depending on how much sap gets on your skin and how sensitive you are to it. Problems can also happen if the plants are burned. Airborne sap-coated soot can get into the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory system.
The best way to avoid the rash is to learn what the plants look like and stay away from them. If you come into contact with the plants, wash your skin and clothing right away. If you develop a rash, ask your pharmacist about over-the-counter medicines. For severe rashes, see your doctor.
National Park Service
Felter's Materia Medica on Sumac
...l shrub of the rocky regions of eastern United States. Dose, 5 to 60 grains. Common Names: Fragrant Sumach, Sweet Sumach. Principal Constituents.Volatile and fixed oils, tannin, and several resins. ......nts.Volatile and fixed oils, tannin, and several resins. Preparation.Specific Medicine Fragrant Sumach. Dose, 5 to 60 drops. Specific Indications. Stools profuse, skin cool and sallow, pulse s...... is a better agent for the diarrhea and night sweats of that disease. The principal use of fragrant sumach is to control bedwetting in children with weak bladder. In some instances its action is more ...1
...mmon in thickets in the United States and Canada. Dose, 1 to 30 grains (bark). Common Names: Smooth Sumach, Upland Sumach, Pennsylvania Sumach. Principal Constituents.A large amount of tannin abound......ulcerative sore throat with fetid secretion. Action and Therapy.External. All parts of the smooth sumach are astringent and antiseptic and of much value in flabbiness of tissue, with tendency to ulc...1
Physician's Materia Medica on Sumac
The bark of the root of RHUS AROMATICA, Ait. Astringent. stimulant to non-striated muscular tissue. Used especially in nocturnal incontinence of urine.2
The bark, also the fruit of RHUS GLABRA, Lin. The bark is astringent and antiseptic; useful in passive fluxes. The fruit is astringent, acidulous, refrigerant and diuretic; especially useful as a gargle in pharyngitis.2
References
2) Nelson, Baker & Co., 1904, Physician's Handy Book of Materia Medica and Therapeustics, Detroit, Michigan.