845 
TUPELO 
ed to exposure to the weather. When dry it 
resists decay and is rarely attacked by in¬ 
sects. It may be used for sections and 
brood-frames, but is very unsatisfactory 
for hives. It is suitable for door panels 
and wainscoting and in the manufacture 
of carriages, furniture, and various small 
articles. As the wood is light and strong, 
the Indians used it in building great ca¬ 
noes, capable of carrying 20 persons or 
more. 
TUPELO ( Nyssa ).—Nyssa is a small 
genus containing only 7 species, of which 
5 occur in North America and 2 in south¬ 
ern Asia. Pour of the American species 
are trees, and one is a shrub. The leaves 
are alternate, thidk and leathery, almost 
entire, oblong or obovate, and are brilliant¬ 
ly colored in autumn. The flowers are 
small, greenish and appear with the leaves. 
The stamens and pistils are usually in dif¬ 
ferent flowers on different trees, the stam- 
inate are clustered, and the pistillate soli¬ 
tary or two to three together. The name of 
the water-nymph Nyssa was given to this 
genus on account of the aquatic habit of 
the species. 
White Tupelo (Nyssa aquatica.) White 
gum. Cotton gum. Water tupelo. Tupelo 
gum. Swamp tupelo. In river swamps in 
the coast region from southern Virginia to 
northern Florida, westward to the Nueces 
River, Texas; northward thru Arkan¬ 
sas, west Tennessee and west Kentucky and 
southern Missouri to the lower Wabash 
River, Illinois. A large water-loving tree, 
attaining a height of 100 feet and a dia¬ 
meter of 4 feet. The bark is dark brown 
in color, ridged and broken into small 
scales. The leaves are thick, oval, pointed 
at the apex, dark green and shining above, 
paler and pubescent below. The small 
greenish flowers open in April and May; 
the staminate are in dense round heads; the 
pistillate or fertile are solitary on slender 
stalks. The blue-purple fruit ripens in 
September. The wood is soft but can be 
used for crates and packing boxes. In the 
older floras the Latin name of this species 
is given as Nyssa uniflora. 
The honey of white tupelo has a very 
mild exquisite flavor, a thick body, and is 
very light in color with a pale lemon hue 
which renders it very attractive in glass 
Sprig of scrub tupelo, showing the shape of the 
leaves and blossoms. 
containers. The bulk of this honey is pro¬ 
duced in the extracted form and shipped 
northward in 30-gallon barrels. It is in 
great demand among northern dealers in 
honey, who prefer it because it does not 
granulate. The nectar is secreted very 
copiously and a great amount is collected 
by the bees in a few weeks, but they are 
not numerous enough to harvest more than 
a small part of it. In pine-barren ponds 
the white tupelo is often a small tree, which 
may be readily mistaken for a distinct spe¬ 
cies. 
Black Tupelo (Nyssa biflora). Black 
