【 RED FOLIAGE OF SUMAC TREES】
It’s a pity that we can’t enjoy watching autumnal foliage in
Amami. Instead, hills and fields are dotted with red leaves of Sumac (Rhus
succedanea) trees in winter. It looks like the colder winter we have, the
redder the leaves become.
Since the Sumac belongs to the cashew family, you should be
careful not to touch the tree sap or the tree itself with bare hands. You can
easily get lacquer poisoning. Some people are so sensitive that they get
poisoning by just standing under a Sumac tree.
It is said that wax is extracted from its epicarp (fruit skin) and
dyestuff is produced from the bark. I hear planting Sumac trees was encouraged
before World War II, to increase wax production.