TUPELO 



Pistil. — Ovary inferior, one to two-celled ; style stout, exserted, 

 reflexed above the middle. Entirely wanting in sterile flower. 

 Ovules, one in each cell. 



Fruit. — Fleshy drupe, one to three from each flower cluster. 

 Ovoid, two-thirds of an inch long, dark blue, acid. Stone more 

 or less ridged. October. 



The glossy beauty of the Tupelo is undoubtedly the rea- 

 son why it so often is permitted to escape the levelling axe 

 and allowed to stand in the fields with the elm, oak, and ma- 

 ple. In such a situation its contour is as individual as that 

 of any of its companions. 

 The stem rises to the sum- 

 mit of the tree in one ta- 

 pering unbroken shaft, the 

 branches come out at right 

 angles to the trunk and 

 either extend horizontally 

 or droop a little, making a 

 long, narrow, cone- like 

 head. The spray is fine 

 and abundant and lies hor- 

 izontally so that the foli- 

 age arrangement is not un- 

 like that of the beech. 

 The leaves are short peti- 

 oled and so have little in- 

 dividual motion, but the 

 branch sways as a whole. 

 The tree rarely flourishes in exposed positions, it dies at the 

 top and lives on in a half-hearted way until the friendly axe 

 ends the unequal struggle. But, allowed to grow in freedom, 

 sheltered but not crowded, it develops a full round head and 

 lives to good old age. 



The flowers are inconspicuous, but the fruit is quite marked, 

 dark blue, in clusters of two or three, sour but eagerly sought 

 by the birds. 



Its autumnal coloring is superb ; the foliage becomes one 



179 



Tupelo, l^y&sa sylvatica. Drupes J^' to ^' long. 



