Water Gum 



737 



ous for their autumnal coloration. The flowers, appearing with the leaves, are 

 small, greenish, polygamo-dioecious, in small clusters, short racemes or sometimes 

 soUtary on slender axillary peduncles. The staminate flowers are numerous, their 

 calyx cup-shaped, 5-lobed; petals 5, small, fleshy, rarely none; stamens, 5 to many, 

 borne on an entire or lobed disk. The pistillate flowers, 2 to many or solitary, are 

 on axillary peduncles; calyx 5-toothed; petals small or minute; stamens several, 

 usually abortive; ovary sessile, i- to 2-celled, with a solitary ovule; style slender, 

 recurved, its apex stigmatic. The fruits are fleshy drupes, solitary or clustered, 

 ovoid or oval; the stone is large, bony, more or less ridged; seed usually i, com- 

 pletely filling the cavity; embryo in abundant fleshy endosperm. 



The name apphed to these trees by Linnaeus is that of a water nymph, on ac- 

 count of the aquatic habit of the type species, N. aquatica. One additional species, 

 a shrub, Nyssa acuminata Small, occurs in the southern Atlantic States. 



Our arborescent species are: 



Pistillate flowers 2 to several; drupe i to 1.5 cm. long; stone ridged. 



Stone much flattened, prominently ridged. i. N. biflora. 



Stone little flattened, indistinctly ridged. 2. N. sylvatica. 

 Pistillate flower i; drupe 3 to 4 cm. long; stone sharp edged or winged. 



Leaves acuminate; pedicels longer than the blue or purple drupe. 3. N. aquatica. 



Leaves blimt, minutely tipped; pedicels shorter than the red drupe. 4. N. Ogeche. 



I. WATER GUM— Nyssa biflora Walter 



The Water gum, also called the Black gum, and Water tupelo, inhabits swamps 

 and the margins of ponds from New Jersey to Florida and Louisiana, where it 

 attains a maximum height of 40 meters, 

 with a trunk diameter of 2 m. 



The trunk gradually tapers from a 

 swollen base; when growing in water the tree 

 produces many thick erect roots which rise 

 to the surface. The branches arc slender 

 and spreading, the tree roundish topped; 

 the bark is about 3 cm. thick, furrowed 

 into rough longitudinal ridges of a dark 

 reddish brown color; the twigs are slightly 

 hairy at first, soon becoming smooth and 

 reddish brown; the winter buds are about 

 3 mm. long, sharp pointed and dark brown. 

 The leaves are thick and firm, oblong to 

 oblanceolate, or nearly obovate, 5 to 15 

 cm. long, sharp or blunt-pointed, usually ^^<^- 674- — Water Gum. 



tapering at the base, the margin entire; they are smooth on both sides when ma- 

 ture, the leaf-stalk 15 mm. long or less. The tree flowers in April or May. The 



