The Tupelos and the Dogwoods 



South. This "black gum" can be readily distinguished from the 

 red gum, or liquidambar, as far as the colour of the trunks can be 

 made out. The name, "sour gum," refers to the fruit. Linnaeus 

 gave to this water-loving genus the name of Nyssa, the water 

 nymph who reared the infant Bacchus. It was the fashion for 

 the old botanists to give new plants names derived from classical 

 mythology, without much thought of appropriateness. 



The foliage of the tupelo is without question its chiefest 

 charm, but there are others which the leaves partially conceal. 

 The winter aspect of the tree is strikingly picturesque. There is 

 a central axis, such as we see commonly among evergreens but 

 seldom among broad-leaved trees. From this tapering shaft the 

 slender branches spread in level platforms that subdivide into 

 wiry, angular branchlets and end in a dense, flat twig system. A 

 young tupelo in winter has as much rigidity of mien as a young 

 honey locust. 



With advancing years the tupelo loses the symmetry of its 

 youth. The lower branches droop dejectedly. The top is likely 

 to die. When the wreck blows over it often shows a hollow butt, 

 for the wood, though tough, is soft and quick to decay. Where 

 the vitality of the tree is low, agencies of deterioration are quick 

 to follow up their advantage. Wood-destroying fungi in the soil 

 rot the trunk oflF in an incredibly short time. An artist studying 

 the expression of trees in winter will look in vain for a more 

 melancholy figure than an aged tupelo, smitten by untoward 

 fates the very King Lear of the forest. 



In the ponds of the pine barrens in the Carolinas a two- 

 flowered tupelo is found, variety hi flora. It is smaller than the 

 parent species, and has a much swollen base, with large roots that 

 hump themselves out of the water. Its leaves are smaller than 

 those the tupelo bears in the North. 



The Ogeechee Lime, or Sour Tupelo (Nyssa Ogeche, 

 Marsh.), grows in the river swamps that line the coasts of South 

 Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida. It takes its name from 

 the Ogeechee Valley, which is the centre of its limited range. 

 The trees are small, with bushy tops and hoary grey twigs, which 

 when young are coated with silky red tomentum. The leaves are 

 4 to 6 inches long, oval, and firm in texture. The tree is a striking 

 figure when laden with its red fruits, about the size and shape of 

 pecan nuts. They hang in profuse clusters from August till late 



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