Nyssa Linnaeus. Common name: Tupelo, Sour Gum, Black Gum.
A genus of about 8-10 species, trees and shrubs, of e. North America, e. Asia, se. Asia, and Central America. The only other members of the genus are 2-4 e. and se. Asian species and a single species of Costa Rica (Hammel & Zamora 1990; Wen & Stuessy 1993).
ID notes: Nyssa sylvatica is often mistaken (especially as seedlings, saplings, or fire-sprouts) for Diospyros virginiana, because of their similar, alternate, glossy-green, acuminate leaves. Nyssa can be distinguished by its three vascular bundle scars per leaf scar (vs. one Diospyros), leaves often with a few irregular teeth (vs. never toothed), leaves pale to medium green beneath (vs whitish-green beneath), leaves lacking reddish to dark glands on the midrib above and the petiole (vs. present), and leaves glabrous or nearly so below (vs. glabrate to tomentose with curly hairs) (McKenney 1967).
References: Burckhalter (1992); Eyde (1966); Tucker & Park (2016) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2016); Ward (2001); Wen & Stuessy (1993); Zhou et al. (2018); Zhou, Xiang, & Wen (2020). Show full citations.
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend. Data for arrows not developed for genera and families which may have species only occurring outside the flora area.
© Keith Bradley | Nyssa biflora
© Scott Ward | Nyssa biflora | Original Image ⭷
© Keith Bradley | Nyssa sylvatica | Original Image ⭷
© Jay Horn | Nyssa ursina source | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware | Nyssa ogeche CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷Feedback
See something missing or incorrect about Nyssa? Let us know here:
- Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
- If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
- Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
- Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
- Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.