Blackgum or black tupelo is oftentimes (but not always) associated with wet areas as is suggested by its latin genus name Nyssa, the name for a Greek mythological water sprite. The Creek Indian word for "swamp tree" is eto opelwu. Southern bee-keepers prize the tree's nectar and sell tupelo honey for a premium. The tree is showy in fall with brilliant red leaves ornamented with blue fruit on female trees.
1. The Silviculture of Tupelo Gum
Steve Nix
Black tupelo (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.
2. The Images of Blackgum
Forestryimages.org provides several images of parts of blackgum. The tree is a hardwood and the lineal taxonomy is Magnoliopsida > Cornales > Nyssaceae > Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. Blackgum is also commonly called sourgum, pepperidge, tupelo, black tupelo and tupelogum.
3. The Range of Blackgum
USFS
Black tupelo grows in the uplands and in alluvial stream bottoms from southwestern Maine to New York, to extreme southern Ontario, central Michigan, Illinois, and central Missouri, and south to eastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas, and southern Florida. It is local in central and southern Mexico. Optimum development is made on lower slopes and terraces in the Southeastern United States.
4. Blackgum at Virginia Tech
Leaf: Alternate, simple, pinnately veined, oblong to obovate in shape with an entire margin, 3 to 5 inches long, occasionally shallow lobes (or coarse teeth) near tip, dark green above and slightly paler below.Twig: Moderately stout, red-brown to gray, diaphragmed pith; 1 to 2 inch curved spur shoots are often present; buds ovate, pointed, green and light brown, but darkening to brown in the winter.
