NYSSACEAE - - Tupelo Family

Nyssa sylvatica Marshall — Black Gum

Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica) - Tree becoming 50 m. tall, with angular-checked bark; leaf-blades oval or obovate, sometimes pubescent beneath and sometimes with a few remote teeth, tip usually abruptly acuminate, 5—15 cm. long; drupe oval, 10—15 mm. long; stone oval or ellipsoid, rarely broadened upward and alightly curved. The wood is used for making various utensils. It is light-yellow, or nearly white and soft, but tough.

Habitat:

Dry or mesic upland forests, less commonly in bottomlands, pine savannas, or upland depressions, where occasionally inundated briefly.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Nyssa sylvatica (Black Gum)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Nyssa sylvatica (Black Gum)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.