Leaves are alternate, oval, and have entire leaf margins, but the leaf margins are sometimes slightly toothed. Flowers are either polygamous or dioecious.
Fruit is a drupe.
Leaves are glossy above and somewhat bloomy beneath. Buds are imbricate. Flowers are inconspicuous and borne in May or June. Fruit is a blue-black drupe that matures in October. Nyssa sylvatica The blackgum, often call sourgum, has been considered a weed in the forest due to the low value of the lumber in Ohio.