PLANT PROFILE

Nyssa sylvatica
blackgum, black gum, sour gum



Nyssa sylvatica
Nyssa sylvatica
Photo courtesy Renee Brecht
Britton & Brown
Botanical name: Nyssa sylvatica
Common name: blackgum, black gum, sour gum
Group: dicot
Family: Cornaceae
Growth type: forb/herb
Duration: perennial
Origin: native
Plant height: up to 40'
Foliage: alternate, obovate to elliptic; dark green in summer
Flower: small, greenish-white; fruit is bluish-black, small and oblong
Flowering time: mid May to mid June; fruits early September to October
Habitat: moist, wet, rich, acid soils of swamps, woods, occasionally upland
Range in New Jersey: statewide, decreasing northward
Heritage ranking, if any: n/a
Distribution:
Misc. most trees are either male (no fruit) or female (heavy fruit), but some have either staminate and perfect flowers (limited fruit) or pistillate and perfect flowers (heavy fruit).