Scientific Name, Family: Nyssa sylvatica, Tupelo (Nyssa)

Common Names: Sour gum, Pepperidge, Beetlebung, Cotton Gum, Nyssa, Common Tupelo Tree

Native or invasive: Native (cultivated)

Deciduous or Evergreen: Deciduous

Image of the tree you are viewing: GPS Longtitude 0.00328 Latitude 0.90199

Condition and age guess of the tree you are viewing:

Branch Structure: Medium sized tree with wide, rounded crown.

Typical height and width at maturity: 65-80 ft tall by 20-30 ft wide

Typical longevity: It is the longest-lived hardwood species in the eastern United States, with a maximum age that can exceed 650 years. It is inherently slow growing, which most likely explains its great longevity and high shade tolerance; it is also one of the few tree species that are fire resistant as well as shade tolerant.

Soil, water, sunlight preferences:  Full sun and chalky, loam soils.  The tree prefers average, medium to wet soils in full sun. It prefers moist, acidic soils, but is adaptive and tolerates poorly-drained soils and standing water, some drought, and some dry soils, at least in the wild. It tolerates many soil types and moisture conditions, but is slow-growing, reaching about 12 to 15 feet in about ten years, growing faster with a good watering and fertilizer schedule.

Growth habit of roots: The roots are deep growing, making Black Gum very difficult to transplant, which is not recommended. These slow-growing trees get quite large, and should be planted in locations with that in mind.

Images of trunk bark at early stage and mature stage: Black surface with similar wrinkled texture similar to alligator skin.  Even though called “black gum” – nothing sticky about it.

Images of mature tree: winter and summer

Image of leaf or leaves on a 12 x 12 inch grid:

Image of leaf or leaves in fall colors:

Flower Details: It has a flowering habit that is dioecious, meaning a male and female tree are required to produce fruit. However, some plants have mostly male flowers while others have mostly female flowers, with most plants having a few perfect flowers. This would account for some plants being loaded with egg-shaped blue-black berries, while others may only have a few berries. Female trees need a male pollinator to set fruit.

Typical Pollination Mechanism: The nectar from the flowers is sought after by bees and tupelo honey is highly prized.

Images of flowers (one or two images)

Images of fruit:

Value for wildlife: This tree is an excellent choice to support wildlife in the landscape. The nectar from the flowers is sought after by bees and tupelo honey is highly prized.

Utility for Humans: Cultivated for ornamental value in parks due to scarlet fall-time leaves and shade.  Attractive year-round.  Popular for beekeepers to harvest bee gum from sections of hollow trees. 

Traditional uses in Native American Tree Medicine (historical):

Links to related interesting information: audio file link

Homeowner’s Corner:

This tree is an excellent choice to support wildlife in the landscape. However, it should be sited in a permanent location because its long taproot makes it difficult to transplant later. It is tolerant of drought, heat, dry, and wet soils, and is moderately salt tolerant, but it is intolerant to alkaline soils. It withstands wind, ice, and salt spray in coastal locations.  

Black gum is a good street tree, specimen, and shade tree. The spectacular fall foliage color will add interest to your landscape. The black gum is grown as an ornamental for its beautiful, scarlet red, fall color and for its shiny, dark green leaves in the summer.