{"id":19785,"date":"2022-07-29T17:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T21:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=19785"},"modified":"2025-07-30T12:02:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T16:02:13","slug":"intro-to-trees-of-indiana-black-gum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-of-indiana-black-gum\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees of Indiana: Black Gum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Drawing<\/a>The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was\u00a0published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.\u00a0\u00a0Nearly 70 years later, the publication has\u00a0been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,\u00a0Indiana 4-H<\/a>, and\u00a0the\u00a0Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0full publication<\/a>\u00a0is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to\u00a0Trees of Indiana web\u00a0series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a>\u00a0to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a>\u00a0exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.<\/p>\n

This week, we introduce the black gum or\u00a0Nyssa sylvatica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The black gum, also known as bee gum, sour gum, black tupelo or pepperidge, has glossy, green oblong leaves broader at the tip that at the base. The alternately held leaves are often found in clusters at the tips of the branches, which grow out of the trunk at nearly 90-degree angles. The bark, which can range from light gray to a dark grayish brown, resembles alligator hide or in some case features long running ridges.<\/p>\n

Black gum produces a small dark-blue berry-like fruit which ripen in late September and are favored by birds. In the fall, this species also puts on quite a show with its striking red\/maroon leaves, which begin to change in mid-September.<\/p>\n

Black gum is a medium-sized tree that is found on moist, well-drained soils, but also grows on dry upland sites. This species can be found from southern Maine to nearly the tip of Florida. It also ranges from east Texas north across Missouri, southern Illinois, nearly all of Indiana and to central Michigan and back east, except in the lower Mississippi River bottom.<\/p>\n