Description:
This tree is 40-80' tall at maturity, forming a single trunk about
1½-3'
across and a pyramidal-oblongoid to oblongoid crown. Branches are
more or less horizontal, although lower branches tend to droop
downward toward the base of the crown; the latter are usually crooked.
Occasionally, a trunk will
become forked and the crown will be more irregular and open. Trunk bark
is gray or gray-brown and irregularly furrowed with scaly plates. On
very old trees, these plates become thick, rectangular, and block-like.
Branch bark is gray and more smooth, while twigs
are brown, glabrous, and rather stout. Short spur twigs are
rather common. Alternate leaves are produced along the twigs and young
shoots; they are 2-5" long and 1-3" across, elliptic to broadly
elliptic in shape,
somewhat leathery in texture, and smooth to slightly wavy along their
margins. On rare occasions, some trees may produce leaves with a few
large blunt teeth. The upper leaf surface is medium green, shiny,
and hairless, while the lower surface is dull pale green and either
hairless or pubescent. Venation is pinnate. The slender petioles are
¼-¾" long, whitish green to red, and either hairless or pubescent.
Black Tupelo is polygamo-dioecious, producing male and either
female or perfect flowers on separate trees. Male flowers are produced
in small umbels on slender peduncles about ½-1" long. Individual male
flowers are about 1/8" (3 mm.) across, consisting of a shallow green
calyx
with barely discernible teeth, insignificant green petals, and
5-10 spreading stamens with long filaments. Sessile clusters of 2-5
female flowers are produced on slender peduncles about ¾-2½" long.
Individual female or perfect flowers are about 1/8" (3 mm.) across,
consisting of a
tubular green calyx with 5 tiny teeth along its upper rim,
insignificant
green petals, an ovary with a single style, and 0-10 erect stamens on
short filaments; these stamens are often abortive. The blooming
period occurs during late spring as the leaves develop. Female and
perfect flowers are replaced by individual or sessile clusters of 2-3
drupes on long
slender peduncles. Individual drupes are up to ½" long and ovoid in
shape,
becoming blue-black at maturity. Each drupe has thin bitter-sour flesh
and a single hard seed (stone) that is light tan, up to 1/3" (8 mm.)
long, and
ellipsoid-oblongoid in shape with 10-12 faint longitudinal grooves. The
deciduous leaves are quite colorful during the autumn, becoming
golden
yellow, orange, scarlet, or purple, sometimes with blotches of
green.
Cultivation:
The preference is full sun to light shade, moist to mesic conditions,
and soil consisting of loam, silt-loam, or clay-loam. The growth rate
and longevity of this tree are moderate. With the except of heart rot
occurring in older branches and adjacent areas of the trunk,
it has relatively few problems
with insects or disease. Flooded conditions are tolerated only if they
persist for a short period of time.
Range
& Habitat:
The native Black Tupelo is occasional in southern Illinois and uncommon
along the easternmost tier of counties within the state.
Illinois lies along the northwestern range limit of this species.
Habitats are variable, consisting of rocky upland woodlands, wooded
slopes, upland sand flats, floodplain woodlands, higher ground and
edges of swamps, and edges of shaded seeps and springs. Trees on dry
upland areas tend to be smaller in size than those growing on moist
fertile ground. Black Tupelo benefits from disturbance that reduces
competition from taller canopy trees. While individual trees are
frequently top-killed by fire, new seedlings develop in response to
greater light levels.
Faunal
Associations: Information about
insect pollinators of the flowers is scant, although honeybees and
undoubtedly other bees are attracted to the nectar of the flowers.
Compared to other tree species, Black Tupelo is a host plant of
relatively few insects.
These species include caterpillars of several moths that feed on
the foliage:
Allotria
elonympha (False Underwing),
Antispila
nysaefoliella (Tupelo Leafminer),
Comachara cadburyi
(Cadbury's
Mystique),
Darapsa
pholus (Azalea Sphinx),
Malacosoma disstria
(Forest
Tent Caterpillar),
Paectes
ostoloides (Large Paectes),
Polygrammate
hebraeicum (The Hebrew), and
Probole alienaria
(Alien Probole). The
plant bugs
Lygocoris
nyssae and
Lepidopsallus
nyssae feed on this tree,
as does an aphid,
Aphis
coreopsidis, of which Black Tupelo is a winter
host. The larvae of the following long-horned beetles bore through the
wood of mostly dead or dying trees:
Aegomorphus
morrisi,
Charisalia
americana,
and
Trigonarthris
proxima.
Among vertebrate animals, such birds as the
Wood Duck, Wild Turkey, Northern Mockingbird, Starling, Brown Thrasher,
Robin, Wood Thrush, and
Pileated Woodpecker eat the oily fruits during autumn; see the
Bird
Table for a more
complete list of these species. Some mammals also feed on the fruits,
including the Black Bear, Gray Fox, Opossum, Raccoon, Fox Squirrel, and
Gray Squirrel. When Black Tupelo grows near bodies of water, the wood
is used as a source of food and construction materials by the Beaver,
while White-Tailed Deer browse on the twigs and foliage. Because older
trees of Black Tupelo often develop cavities, they provide dens for
various small mammals and nesting habitat for some species of birds.
Photographic
Location: The campus of the
University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois.
Comments: Black Tupelo is showiest during the autumn when
its leaves
assume brilliant colors and some of its fruit is still hanging on the
tree. Other common names of this tree are Black Gum and Sour Gum. A
variety of Black Tupelo,
Nyssa
sylvatica biflora (Swamp Tupelo), is
very similar to the typical variety that is described here. Swamp
Tupelo differs by having smaller leaves (less than 2½" long) that are
more oblong in shape. The seeds of its fruits are more deeply grooved
than those of Black Tupelo. Swamp Tupelo is sometimes treated as a
distinct species,
Nyssa
biflora. It is often found in swamps and its
distribution is more southern. In Illinois, Swamp Tupelo is restricted
to the southern tip of the state, where it is rare. Another species,
Nyssa aquatica
(Water Tupelo), prefers swamps with standing water and
areas along major rivers that are frequently flooded. It is a tall tree
(up to 100') with a long straight trunk that is swollen at the base;
Water Tupelo is a frequent associate of Bald Cypress (
Taxodium distichum).
This tree is also restricted to southern Illinois. It
differs from Black Tupelo by having larger fruits (up to 1" long) that
are borne individually, rather than in sessile clusters. It also
has longer petioles. Sometimes, trees in this genus are assigned to the
Dogwood family
(Cornaceae).