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Nyssa sylvatica

Common name:	Black Tupelo	Family:	Nyssaceae
Author:	Marshall.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:	Nyssa villosa (Michx.), Nyssa multiflora (Wangenh.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Maine to Florida, west to Ontario and Texas.
Habitat:	Low acid woods, swamps and shores in imperfectly drained soils[11, 43]. Also found on high wooded slopes in the south of its range[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	N. biflora[B,G,P] N. sylvatica var. biflora[B,G,P] N. sylvatica var. caroliniana[B,P] N. sylvatica var. dilatata[B,P] N. sylvatica var. typica[B,P] N. sylvatica var. ursina[P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Black Gum [L], Black Tupelo [B,FEIS], Blackgum [E,DEN1,P], Swamp Tupelo [P,DEN1,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	sylvatica = growing in the woods, wild;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cornales. Sour Gum family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Amerindian)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 15m by 12m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in leaf from May to October, in flower in June, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy, Secondary.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked. A thin sharply acid pulp that is pleasant to roll in the mouth as a masticatory[183], it is also used in preserves[177, 183]. Pleasantly acidulous[2]. The fruit is up to 15mm in diameter and is borne in small clusters of 2 - 3[82, 200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Emetic; Ophthalmic; Vermifuge.

The bark is emetic, ophthalmic and vermifuge[257]. An infusion has been used as a bath and also given to children with worms[257]. A strong decoction is used to cause vomiting when unable to retain food[257].
A strong ooze from the roots is used as eye drops[257].

Other Uses

Wood.

Wood - tough, not durable, soft, heavy, hard to work and warps easily. It has an intricately contorted and twisted grain[82]. It weighs 40lb per cubic foot and is used for making boxes, soles of shoes, wooden pipes, wheel hubs, veneer etc[43, 46, 61, 82, 171, 227, 235].

Cultivation details

Although this is a plant of swamps and other wet soils in the wild, once established it can succeed in Britain when growing in an ordinary good loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[11, 200]. It prefers a neutral to alkaline soil according to one report[200], whilst another says that it requires a lime-free soil[98]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution and growing in maritime regions[200].
A very ornamental tree[1], it has a moderate rate of growth and moderate longevity[229].
Resents root disturbance, it is difficult to transplant except when young[11].
The tree does not come into leaf until late May.
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

The seed can be sown in late winter in a cold frame[78] but would probably benefit from an earlier sowing if the seed can be obtained any sooner. Three months stratification at 5°c improves germination[200]. Germination rates are variable[78]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame.
Layering.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Nyssa biflora (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

References for the family Nyssaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[98] Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. f. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.
Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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