Nyssa sylvatica
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Photo courtesy Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Nyssa sylvatica |
| Common name: | blackgum, black gum, sour gum |
| Group: | dicot |
| Family: | Cornaceae |
| Growth type: | forb/herb |
| Duration: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | up to 40' |
| Foliage: | alternate, obovate to elliptic; dark green in summer |
| Flower: | small, greenish-white; fruit is bluish-black, small and oblong |
| Flowering time: | mid May to mid June; fruits early September to October |
| Habitat: | moist, wet, rich, acid soils of swamps, woods, occasionally upland |
| Range in New Jersey: | statewide, decreasing northward |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | n/a |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | most trees are either male (no fruit) or female (heavy fruit), but
some have either staminate and perfect flowers (limited fruit) or
pistillate and perfect flowers (heavy fruit). |