TUPELO 



flower clusters have no great white involucre as have those 

 of the Flowering Dogwood, and the fruit is dark purple in- 

 stead of red and of intensely disagreeable aromatic flavor. 



TUPELO. PEPPERIDGE. SOUR GUM 



Nyssa sylvdtica. 



Nyssa, the name of the nymph who reared Bacchus, was given to 

 the genus by Linnaeus. Pepperidge is meaningless. 



Found in eastern North America. Loves the borders of swamps 

 and low wet lands. Usually reaches the height of fifty feet and oc- 

 casionally one hundred ; variable in form. Roots large, striking 

 deep. 



Bark. Light reddish brown, deeply furrowed and scaly. Branch- 

 lets at first pale green to orange, sometimes smooth, often downy, 

 later dark brown. 



Wood. Pale yellow, sapwood white ; heavy, strong, very tough, 

 hard to split, not durable in contact with the soil. Used for turnery. 

 Sp. gr., 0.6353 ; weight of cu. ft., 39.59. 



Winter Suds. Dark red, obtuse, one-fourth of an inch long. 

 Inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot, becoming red before 

 they fall. 



Leaves. Alternate, often crowded at the end of the lateral 

 branches, simple, linear, oblong to oval, two to five inches long, 

 one-half to three inches broad, wedge-shaped or rounded at base, 

 entire, with margin slightly thickened, acute or acuminate. They 

 come out of the bud conduplicate, coated beneath with rusty to- 

 mentum, when full grown are thick, dark green, very shining above, 

 pale and often hairy beneath. Feather-veined, midrib and primary 

 veins prominent beneath. In autumn they turn bright scarlet, or 

 yellow and scarlet. Petioles one-quarter to one-half an inch long, 

 slender or stout, terete or margined, often red. 



Flowers. May, June, when leaves are half grown. Polygamo- 

 dioecious, yellowish green, borne on slender downy peduncles. 

 Staminate in many-flowered heads ; pistillate in two to several- 

 flowered clusters. 



Calyx. Cup-shaped, five-toothed. 



Corolla. Petals five, imbricate in bud, yellow green, ovate, thick, 

 slightly spreading, inserted on the margin of the conspicuous disk. 



Stamens. Five to twelve. In staminate flowers exserted, in pis- 

 tillate short, often wanting. 



177 



