Sumagre (Rhus Coriaria)

A shrub of the Anacardiaceae family, perfectly naturalized in Madeira. It has leaves with 4 to 7 pairs of ovate-lanceolate leaflets, sometimes reddish. The leaves and new branches of this shrub are used in tanning leather. A certain quantity of sumac was exported in the past, but this trade is now completely paralyzed.

Regarding the same shrub, Gaspar Frutuoso says the following: "There is a lot of sumac in this island of Madeira, which is used to tan leather, especially cordovan, because it makes it very soft and white. This sumac is planted in small pits, like planting roses and vines; it has a stem like a cane, and the branch is similar to the same cane; it grows in high and cool lands; it is harvested every year by cutting it close to the ground, so that the stump does not dry out and can sprout again, as it is a plant that lasts many years in the ground: it is very profitable, as it multiplies so much that the fields are filled with it, like rose bushes, and the root is plowed under the ground, and what is given in the island is very fine: and when the branch, which is the said sumac, is picked, it is laid in the sun, and dried, then ground in a water mill, just like woad is ground in this island, and it is made into a powder, and the load is ground for various parts in sacks and barrels".