SWEET LEAF, HORSE SUGAR (Symplocos tinctoria, L'Her.). 

 A small, open-headed tree, 10 to 30 feet high, with short trunk 

 and slim, ascending branches. Bark ashy gray with reddish 

 tinge, warty. Buds ovate, with triangular scales. Leaves 

 leathery, sweet-tasting, dark green and lustrous above; paler 

 and pubescent beneath, 5 to 6 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, 

 tapering at base and apex; entire or remotely toothed on mar- 

 gins; petioles short, winged. Flowers white, fragrant, in 

 close axillary clusters; March to May. Fruit, a brown, nut- 

 like drupe with 1 seed. Preferred habitat moist, shady wood- 

 lands. Dist. : Delaware to Florida, west to Blue Ridge Moun- 

 tains, and in Gulf States to Louisiana and southern Arkansas. 

 Horses and cattle browse the foliage. 



Illustration from "Hough's Handbook of Trees" 



