Lemonade Berry

Rhus virens

TL;DR: Sugar-free Country Time Lemonade bush

While this plant is of the virens species, there are quite a few different sumac varieties native to North America. To name a few: evergreen sumac, smooth sumac, winged sumac, prairie sumac, etc. Find your indigenous local variety!

Traditionally, my Texas bretheren called it Lemonade Berry because of the delicious and refreshing drink that can be made by soaking the tart berries in cool spring water for an afternoon. There isn’t much fruit on this berry, so steeping is an efficient method of ingestion. 1oz of berries to 1qt of water should do it. Sugar optional.

These bushes line the popular Mount Bonnell trail here in Austin, and you can usually find them by the plenty starting in September. They can be found as late as January here in the USDA hardiness zone 8b/9a.