Tree of the Week – Black Gum/Black Tupelo

Native to Maine, Ontario, Michigan to Florida and Texas, Black Gum was introduced to the plant community sometime before 1750. The genus name of this tree comes from Nyssa, the beautiful Greek water nymph, while the specific epithet, sylvatica, means ?of the woods.? The common name, tupelo, is said to derive from the Creek Indians meaning ?tree of the swamp.? This tree should be seriously considered as one of your top five choices when considering a shade tree and/or fall foliage color.

Black Gums have a mature size of 30-50? with a spread of 20-30?, are slow to medium in growth, and are hardy from zones 4 to 9. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate, obovate or elliptic, being 3 to 6? long by 1.5 to 3? wide. Leaf color is lustrous dark green in summer changing to several colors of yellow, orange, scarlet and purple in the fall, making Black Gums one of our best, most consistent, beautiful trees in the fall. In younger years, they have a pyramidal shape changing to an irregularly rounded or flat-topped crown. The bark is dark gray, brown and at times almost black, thus the common name. These trees do best in moist, well-drained, acid, deep soils and prefer full sun or semi-shade. Black Gums can acquire cankers, leaf spots, rust, leaf miners and scale, but are not an issue.

These trees make an excellent specimen tree and an acceptable street tree, but do not do well in polluted areas. They will transplant well in younger years, especially if root pruned before transplanting. Do not plant these trees under power lines, as the mature height will interfere with them. The City of McMinnville has several of these planted around City Park and the Warren County Courthouse as part of the newly renovated Main Street project. For further questions, please call Patrick Haller at Quality Trees, Inc. at 931-261-5885.