Coane SILVA OF NORTH AMERICA. 7 
surface of the water,' smaller and usually narrow acute or obtuse leaves, and flattened stones with 
more strongly developed ridges than usually occur on plants growing farther north. 
A figure of doubtful identity which has been thought to represent Vyssa sylvatica was published 
by Plukenet in his Phytographia? in 1691; but the earliest authentic portrait and account of this 
tree are found in Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, published in 1731. The Tupelo, according 
to Aiton,’ was cultivated by the Duke of Argyll® near London in 1750. 
In habit the Tupelo® is one of the most distinct, variable, and picturesque trees of eastern North 
America ; the autumn coloring of its lustrous foliage equals in brilliancy that of the Scarlet Maple, the 
Sweet Gum, and the Flowering Dogwood, while its immunity from the attacks of disfiguring insects 
and serious fungal diseases heightens its value for the decoration of parks. 
In cultivation the Tupelo flourishes in wet, undrained soil and on well-drained uplands. It is 
easily raised from seed, but its long hard roots, mostly destitute of small fibres, make it a difficult tree 
to transplant after it has been long established in one place. 
1 Wilson, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1889, 3. Nyssa foliis latis acuminatis non dentatis, fructu Eleagni minore, 
2 Cynoxylum Americanum, folio crassiusculo molli § tenaci, t.172, Romans, Nat. Hist. Florida, 29. 
f.6; Alm. Bot. 127. 4 Hort. Kew. iii. 446. 
8 Arbor in aqua nascens, foliis latis acuminatis & non dentatis, fructu 5 See i. 108. 
Eleagni minore, i. 41, t. 41. 6 Nyssa sylvatica is also known as Sour Gum and Black Gum. 
Nyssa foliis integerrimis, Linneus, Hort. Cliff. 462. In New England, Tupelo, its Indian name, is most frequently given 
Nyssa pedunculis multifloris, Clayton, Fl. Virgin. 121. to this tree ; in the middle states it is generally called Pepperidge, 
and in the south Sour Gum. 
