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Blackgum

Nyssa sylvatica

Also called Sour gum, Black Gum, Black Tupelo, Pepperidge, Tupelo, Sourgum, Blackgum Tree

Blackgum
Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0

Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America, valued for its brilliant scarlet autumn foliage. Grow it in moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade, and give young trees protection from deer.

Family
Nyssaceae (Nyss family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly while establishing and during dry spells; it tolerates wet soil but does best with steady moisture.
Soil
Moist, well-drained, slightly acidic loam or sandy loam; tolerates wet sites.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; suited to temperate climates such as USDA zones 4 to 9.
How easy
Easy
Native range
S. Ontario to C. & E. U.S.A. and Mexico
Climate
temperate

About

Nyssa sylvatica, commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and eastern Texas, as well as Mexico.

Where it grows

Nyssa sylvatica grows in various uplands and in alluvial stream bottoms from southwestern Maine and New York, to extreme southern Ontario, central Michigan, Illinois, and central Missouri, south to southern Florida, eastern Texas, and eastern Oklahoma. Optimum development is made on lower slopes and terraces in the Southeastern United States. It also occurs locally in the mountains of eastern and southern Mexico, where it is found in the southern Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre de Oaxaca of Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz states and the Chiapas Highlands of Chiapas.

Other Nyssa plants

Water tupelo · Chinese tupelo · Tupelo

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nyssa sylvatica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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