Blackgum

Scientific name: Nyssa sylvatica

Family: Nyssaceae (Tupelo family)

Also known as black tupelo, this native tree is found in all of Ohio except for the driest northwestern counties. This tree is known for its glossy, dark green summer foliage, characteristic blocky bark, and stunning red fall color. Its hard-to-split wood is used for lumber, veneer, boxes, and pulpwood. Black tupelo prefers moist, well-drained, rich, deep, acidic soils and full to partial sun but adapts surprisingly well to dry, average, alkaline soils and partial shade. This tree has several minor diseases and pests, including black leaf spot. Stunting of growth and chlorosis of foliage will occur if this species is planted in alkaline soils.

Identification

LEAF: Alternate, simple, 2-5 inches long, elliptical to slightly obovate leaves with entire and slightly thickened margins, dark green and shiny above, often downy beneath, turning mostly bright red but occasionally shades of yellow, orange, and purple in early autumn

TWIGS AND BUDS: Small twigs are smooth, short, grayish to reddish brown; pith white, and diaphragmed. Leaf scars have three clearly visible bundle scars. Buds are round, pointed, and multi-colored, ¼ inch long.

FRUIT OR SEED: A dark blue drupe, ½ inch long, single-seeded with thin flesh, borne singly or in a cluster, ripening in autumn. Eaten by many forms of wildlife.

BARK: Immature bark is brown to gray-brown, with light furrows and a ridged to shingled appearance. Mature bark is medium gray, smooth to scaly, and has distinctly flat-topped blocks with deep crevices in-between and can fissure into quadrangular blocks called alligator bark on very old trunks.

SHAPE: Uptight oval, irregular canopy. Branching on young trees tends to stand at right angles to the trunk.

MATURE HEIGHT: 40-80 feet.

Photo credits: Arieh Tal (https://botphoto.info), Donald Cameron, William Cullina