Black / Sour Gum Tree – Nyssa sylvatica

Family Nyssaceae – Tupelo Family – also called Black Tupelo, Black Gum, Pepperidge, Tupelo, Tupelo-gum

Nyssa sylvatica is divided into two commonly recognized varieties, typical black tupelo (var. sylvatica) and swamp tupelo (var. biflora). They are usually identifiable by their differences in habitats: black tupelo on light-textured soils of uplands and stream bottoms, swamp tupelo on heavy organic or clay soils of wet bottom lands. They do intermingle in some Coastal Plain areas and in those cases are hard to differentiate. These trees have moderate growth rate and longevity and are an excellent food source for wildlife, fine honey trees, and handsome ornamentals.

This Black Gum was started from seed 24 years ago

Black Gum is a medium to large-sized native tree, frequently 60 to 80 ft tall and 3 to 4 ft in diameter. It typically has dense foliage with a conical crown on straight trunk. The simple, alternate leaves are leathery, and densely clustered at the branchlets. The small greenish white flowers are borne singly or in clusters. The bark is reddish brown and broken into deep irregular ridges and diamond-shaped plates. Sour gum grows from Maine west to New York, extreme southern Ontario, central Michigan, Illinois, central Missouri, and south to central Florida.

Tupelo Morton Arboretum accession 201-40-4*4 is 70 years old

Wildlife: Black bears, foxes, wood ducks, wild turkeys, robins, woodpeckers, mockingbirds, brown thrashers, thrushes, flickers, and starlings frequently eat the fruit, while white-tailed deer and beavers browse the twigs, foliage, and young sprouts. Additionally, provides cavity and nesting sites for a variety of birds and mammals and a good honey tree.

Blackgum is usually found with a mix of other species including black cherry (Prunus serotina), dogwood (Cornus florida), hickory (Carya spp.), oak (Quercus spp.) eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), and yaupon, it is shade tolerant and seldom grows as dominant tree but it usually grows in the intermediate crown class on most sites. It responds favorably to release from overtopping vegetation. Seedlings grow slowly under a fully stocked stand.

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