Sourwood
Oxydendrum arboreum
Embedded Files
Sourwood grows from southern Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana to southeastern Louisiana and the Florida panhandle. It also grows in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee as well as the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Virginia. Its native range includes southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, and southeastern Illinois to western Florida and northeastern Louisiana. Sourwood is generally tolerant of moisture and light conditions.
Fruit: A brown, 5-valved, 1/3"-1/2" long dehiscent capsule. They ripen to silver-gray in September-October and persist through winter.
Flowers: A fragrant, white, bell-shaped flower on a panicle. They bloom in mid-summer. Sourwoods are also known as lily of the valley trees due to their resemblance to the flower. The panicles persist after the flowers drop, resembling long fingers.
Uses: Wood is used to make tool handles or combined with other species for pulp. The flowers are attractive to bees, and sourwoods are an important source of honey. Sourwoods are commonly used as ornamental tree because of their fall colors and summer flowers.
Ethnobotany: Tea made from the leaves has been used to treat asthma, diarrhea, and indigestion.
Importance to wildlife: The flowers are attractive to butterflies and other insects. Natural hollows in the tree provide shelter for reptiles, amphibians, bats, and other small wildlife. White-tailed deer browse the sprouts.
The full sourwood tree. Sourwood is a small to medium deciduous tree that grows to 20-30 feet tall.
The bark of a sweetgum. Sweetgum bark is reddish brown and deeply furrowed/blocky.
The leaf arrangement on a sourwood. Leaves are simple and alternate.
A single leaf on a sourwood. Leaves are 8-20 cm long, finely toothed near apex, bright green and glabrous above, and paler and glabrous beneath. They turn red to reddish purple in the fall. The tree is named for the sour taste of the leaves.
The buds on a sourwood. Terminal buds are absent. Lateral buds are 1-2 mm long, globe shaped but pointed, imbricate, and appearing sunken into bark.
Page updated
Report abuse