Blackgum

The Black Gum, often called Sour Gum or Black Tupelo, is found in eastern Texas to the valley of the Brazos river; usually in swampy wet soil, but sometimes on dry slopes with the oaks.

The LEAVES are simple, 2 to 3 inches long, entire, obovate to elliptic, shiny, and dark green in color. In the fall the leaves turn brilliant red.

The greenish FLOWERS on long, slender peduncles appear in early spring when they are about one-third grown. They are usually of two kinds, the male in many-flowered heads, and the female in two or several-flowered clusters on different trees.

The FRUIT is drupe-like, dark blue 2/3 inch long, containing a single hard-shelled stone, and is borne 2 to 3 in a cluster on 1 to 2-1/2 inch peduncles.

The BARK on younger trees is furrowed between flat ridges, and gradually develops into quadrangular blocks that are dense, hard, and nearly black in color.

The WOOD is very tough, cross-grained, not durable in contact with the soil, hard to work, and warps easily. Once considered a weed tree, the species is now valuable for basket veneer, box boards, and paper pulp. In the old days, the hollow trunks were used for “bee-gums.”