Nyssa sylvatica, Marsh.

Form.—Height 40-100 feet, diameter 2-4 feet; trunk usually long, clear and straight when in close stands; crown cylindrical or rounded, of numerous horizontal and ascending slender branches.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 2-5 inches long, oval-obovate; acuminate, entire, firm, dark green and shining above, paler beneath, often hairy when young.

Flowers.—April-May; polygamo-dioecious; greenish, the staminate borne in many-flowered small heads on slender pedicels, the pistillate sessile in several-flowered clusters.

Fruit.—Matures in autumn; an ovoid, blue-black, fleshy drupe, about ½ inch long and borne on long stalks in clusters of 1-3.

Bark.—Deeply furrowed, on old trunks, the ridges broken into rectangular or hexagonal blocks; light brown to gray-black.

Wood.—Heavy, soft, strong, tough, difficult to split, not durable in the soil, light yellow, with thick whitish sapwood.

Range.—Maine and Ontario to Florida and Texas.

Distribution in West Virginia.—A common tree throughout the State. Least common at high elevations and east of the Alleghanies.

Habitat.—Thrives best on low ground and borders of swamps, but is common on dry slopes and ridges.

Notes.—Black Gum, also called Tupelo, Pepperidge, and Sour Gum, is one of the less valuable of our forest trees, but its tough, light wood is gaining in value and is used extensively for wheel hubs, boxes, broom handles, wagon beds, ladders, ironing boards, rolling pins, excelsior, baskets, and berry crates.