Oxydendrum arboreum, (L.) D. C.

Form.—Height 30-60 feet, diameter 12-18 inches; trunk medium long and slender; crown narrow and round-topped.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, pointed, serrate, smooth and shining, 5-7 inches long.

Flowers.—July; perfect; small, white, in long, one-sided racemes clustered in an open, terminal panicle.

Fruit.—Matures in early autumn; a 5-valved capsule, often persistent into the winter.

Bark.—Thick, roughened by fissures and broken, grayish ridges.

Wood.—Hard, heavy, close-grained reddish-brown with lighter sapwood.

Range.—Pennsylvania and Indiana southward mostly along the mountains to Florida and Louisiana.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Found in all sections west of the Alleghanies, rare in the eastern part of the State.

Habitat.—Light, well-drained soils of hillsides and bottoms.

Notes.—Sour-wood, or Sour Gum, although quite common in most parts of West Virginia, is not often used except for unimportant domestic purposes. The tree is very ornamental when in bloom but is infrequently planted.