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| ## blackgum {#blackgum .Title-Header}                                 |
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| *Nyssa sylvatica* Marsh                                               |
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| Plant Symbol = NYSY                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program

![Color image of black gum (Nyssa
sylvatica)](media/image2.png){width="3.0in" height="2.0in"}**Alternate
Names**

sourgum, pepperidge, tupelo, tupelo-gum

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

*Erosion Control*: Reestablishes well in erosion prone areas like burned
over forest, abandoned fields, rolling hills and cold mountain swamps.

*Wildlife*: Black bears, foxes, wood ducks, wild turkeys, robins,
woodpeckers, mockingbirds, brown thrashers, thrushes, flickers, and
starlings frequently eat the fruit, while white-tailed deer and beavers
browse the twigs, foliage and young sprouts. Additionally, provides
cavity and nesting sites for a variety of birds and mammals and a good
honey tree.

*Timber*: Its wood is used for light, nonsplitting woodwork such as in
docks and wharves; veneer, containers, crossties and pallets.

*Recreation and Beautification*: Excellent ornamental plant for its
straight bole, shapely crown and attractive autumn foliage.

##### Status {#status .Header-3}

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

*Nyssa sylvatica* Marsh., blackgum, grows from Maine west to New York,
extreme southern Ontario, central Michigan, Illinois, central Missouri,
and south to central Florida. It is a medium- to large-sized tree,
frequently 60 to 80 ft high and 3 to 4 ft in diameter; it typically has
dense foliage with a conical crown on a straight trunk. The simple,
alternate leaves are leathery, and densely clustered at the branchlets.
The small greenish white flowers are borne singly or in clusters. The
bark is reddish brown and broken into deep irregular ridges and
diamond-shaped plates.

##### Adaptation and Distribution {#adaptation-and-distribution .Header-3}

It is adapted to a wide variety of sites, from the creek bottoms of the
southern Coastal Plain to altitudes of 3,000 feet in North Carolina. It
grows best on well-drained, light-textured soils on the low ridges of
second bottoms and on the high flats of silty alluvium. It will tolerate
brief spring flooding on alluvial sites and is common on the relatively
dry upper and middle slopes in the Appalachian Mountains. On the drier
uplands, it grows best on the loams and clay loams. It is well adapted
to fire. Older trees have thick bark and relatively high moisture
content. Although aboveground portions of young trees are top-killed by
fire, it typically survives by sprouting from the root crown or caudex.

Blackgum is distributed throughout the East and lower Midwest. For a
current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Website.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

Blackgum is usually found with a mix of other species including black
cherry (*Prunus serotina*), dogwood (*Cornus florida*), hickory (*Carya*
spp.), oak (*Quercus* spp.), eastern hophornbeam (*Ostrya*
*virginiana*), and yaupon (*Ilex vomitoria*), it is shade tolerant and
seldom grows as dominant tree but it usually grows in the intermediate
crown class on most sites. It responds favorably to release from
overtopping vegetation. Seedlings grow slowly under a fully stocked
stand. At the time of disturbance large numbers of new seedlings can
become established.

Smaller blackgum stumps sprout readily and larger stumps sprout and
develop root suckers. Layering can be used to produce stocks.

Seed production is highly variable, disseminated primarily by gravity
and birds, others generally fall to the ground and remain dormant in the
litter or are carried by water. Seed overwinters on cool, damp soil and
germinates the following spring. It requires nearly full sunlight for
optimum early growth. The plant tolerates competition and can exist on
unfavorable sites. Pre-chilled seeds must be sown in spring. Seeds are
drilled at the rate of 15 per ft of row and covered with ½ - 1 inch of
soil. A mulch of sawdust is often used. Beds must be kept moist.

It sprouts from the stump following disturbance. Smaller sour gum stumps
sprout readily while larger stumps sprout occasionally. Sprouts arise
from suppressed buds and are concentrated near the top of the stump.
Stump sprouts can produce seeds at 2 years of age.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

Seedling establishment is best accomplished by shelterwood method.
Regeneration can also be accomplished by clear-cutting if prior to a
good seed fall or if advanced regeneration already exist. Due to the
high palatability of seedlings and sprouts, blackgum can be protected by
controlling deer populations. It often competes with loblolly and
shortleaf pine for water and light, reducing its growth and development.
Basal tree injections with herbicide is effective control method for
crown kill. Intermediate trees respond favorably to release from
overhead vegetation; seedlings respond to reduction in canopy cover with
relatively rapid height growth.

##### Pests and Potential Problems {#pests-and-potential-problems .Header-3}

Tupelo leaf miner (*Antispila nyssaefolia*) and forest tent caterpillar
(*Malacosoma disstria*) attack blackgum causing growth loss and
occasional mortality.

##### Prepared By & Species Coordinator:  {#prepared-by-species-coordinator .Header-3}

*USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program*

##### 

##### Edited: 05Feb2002 JLK; 060802 jsp {#edited-05feb2002-jlk-060802-jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*