Trees of Alabama and the Southeast Home Page

Leaves are simple, alternate and deciduous, up to 6 inches long, elliptical to obovate with an occasional large tooth or two on the margin.   Petioles are usually less than 1 inch long and shorter than Nyssa aquatica.  Male flowers are in compact balls. Fruit is a red-blue drupe about 1.5 inches long with a winged stone.  Bark is gray-brown and furrowed and the trunk is often swollen at the base.  Several stems may fuse at the base producing a misshapen appearance.  Ogeechee tupelo is found on flooded sites in the southeastern U.S.   The fruit is very sour and has been used as a lime substitute.  A favorite bee flower.  This species is also grouped in Nyssaceae.

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All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for commercial use in any form.  All photographs are copyrighted by the named photographer(s), text copyright by Lisa Samuelson. © 2005, all rights reserved. Photographs by Mike Hogan.