Nyssa sylvatica – Black Gum or Tupelo

A premier shade tree valued for its pest resistance, dense branching habit, excellent foliage and blue berries for birds on female trees. We find this tree growing on both dryish upland sites and swampy lowland sites. In youth, its habit is somewhat stiff and broadly conical. Older trees take on a more appealing rounded to flat-topped appearance. The foliage has few rivals among woody plants. During summer, the leaves are dark green and glossy. Their beauty intensifies with the arrival of fall, when they turn a bright scarlet with hints of orange, and yellow.

Our trees are too young to have flowered so we don’t know which ones are male and which ones are female.