. Common trees of New York. Trees; Trees. 114 Common Trees BLACK GUM Nyssa srjlvatica, Marshall THE BLACK GUM, also called Sour Gum, Tupelo, and Pepperidge, is at its best in autumn when the entire crown is often clothed with a complete garment of flaming red. In winter when the foliage is off it has a strikingly picturesque form. The stem often continues from the base to the tip without di- viding. In young and middle - aged trees the top branches take an upright position, the lower ones droop, while those along the middle stand out horizontally. The leaves are sim- ple, alternate, 2 to 5 inc
. Common trees of New York. Trees; Trees. 114 Common Trees BLACK GUM Nyssa srjlvatica, Marshall THE BLACK GUM, also called Sour Gum, Tupelo, and Pepperidge, is at its best in autumn when the entire crown is often clothed with a complete garment of flaming red. In winter when the foliage is off it has a strikingly picturesque form. The stem often continues from the base to the tip without di- viding. In young and middle - aged trees the top branches take an upright position, the lower ones droop, while those along the middle stand out horizontally. The leaves are sim- ple, alternate, 2 to 5 inches long, oval, blunt- pointed, wedge - shaped at the base, smooth along margin. The twigs are smooth, grayish - brown, and dotted with crescent- shaped leaf - scars each black gum marked With three dlS- Tw'S> natural size. Bud and leaf-scar, enlarged. tinct bundle-scars. The Leaves and fruit" onethird natural 8ize" buds are reddish-brown and scattered alternately along twigs. On young trunks the bark is smooth to scaly. It breaks into squarish reddish-brown to black blocks on older stems. The fruit is a dark blue fleshy berry about one-third of an inch long. Each berry contains a single hard-shelled seed. Several berries usually occur in a slender-stalked cluster. Some birds eat the berries freely. The wood is very tough and cross-grained. It is hard to work, warps easily, and is not durable in contact with the soil. Farmers have disliked the wood ever since they attempted to split it for rails. In the hard coal mines it is used for rollers carrying ropes and cables. The Black Gum is found from Maine to Florida, west to Michigan and Texas. It is common across the southern and central part of New York, and local to rare northward to Lake George. The best growth is made in wet places. This tree rarely exceeds 60 feet in height and 2 feet in Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for reada
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollection, bookdecade1920, booksubjecttrees
