Comprehensive Description
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Nyssa uniflora Wangenh. Beytr. Nordam. Holz. 83. 1787
Nyssa aquatica L. Sp. PI. 1058, in part. 1753. (Nomen confusum.)
Nyssa denliculala Ait. Hort. Kew. 3: 446. 1789.
Nyssa paluslris Salisb. Prodr. 175. 1796.
Nyssa angulisans Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 259. 1803.
Nyssa lomenlosa Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 259. 1803.
? Nyssa montana Gaertn. Fruct. 3: 201. 1805.
Nyssa grandidentata Michx. f. Hist. Arb. Am. 2: 252. 1813.
Nyssa denliculala Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 1: 178. 1814.
Nyssa candicans var. grandidentata D. J. Browne, Trees Am. 426. 1857.
Trees to 30 m. high, often growing in water and the base of the trunk then much enlarged ; branchlets red, at first tomentose, becoming glabrous and light brown or greyish and marked by large raised almost orbicular leaf-scars; bark of the trunk brownish, fissured in long scaly segments; leaf-blades commonly 10-15 cm. long, 6-S cm. broad (sometimes to 25 cm. long and 10 cm. broad), ovate to broadly elliptic or obovate, sharply acuminate to a mucronate apex, cuneate to cordate at the base, entire or more commonly irregularly and remotely sinuatedentate with mucronate teeth (occasionally merely undulate), glabrous above, the under surface paler, at first tomentose, later glabrous or sparsely pilose, very minutely dotted; petioles commonly 3-5 cm. long; peduncles clustered, mostly from the axils of the cataphylls, some from bracts (sometimes foliaceous) on the proximal part of the branchlets; staminate inflorescence a dense capitule on a bibracteate peduncle about 1.5 cm. long; petals 2-3 mm. long; pistillate flowers solitary, each subtended by several rufous-pubescent bracts 5-10 mm. long, the peduncle 2.5-3 cm. long; petals 4 mm. long; drupes 2.5-3 cm. long, about 1.5 cm. broad, oblong or obovoid, dark purple, crowned by the persistent calyx and disc, on a peduncle 6-10 cm. long, the endocarp compressed, with about 10 narrow alate ridges.
Type locality: None stated.
Distribution: Virginia to Florida, west in the coastal plain to Texas, north in the Mississippi vallev to southern Missouri and southern Illinois.
- bibliographic citation
- Albert Charles Smith, Mildred Esther Mathias, Lincoln Constance, Harold William Rickett. 1944-1945. UMBELLALES and CORNALES. North American flora. vol 28B. New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY
Associated Forest Cover
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Water tupelo is a major component of the forest cover types Water
Tupelo-Swamp Tupelo (Society of American Foresters Type 103) and
Baldcypress-Tupelo (Type 102) (8). In stands containing
baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) and water tupelo,
baldcypress is usually predominant. In sloughs and moving water,
water tupelo usually occupies the deeper parts and baldcypress
the margins and more shallow parts. In deep, stagnant water the
two species occupy much the same depths (19).
In several other forest cover types water tupelo may be a minor
associate: Longleaf Pine-Slash Pine (Type 83), Slash Pine (Type
84), Slash Pine-Hardwood (Type 85), and Baldcypress (Type 101).
Species associated with water tupelo throughout its range are
black willow (Salix nigra), swamp cottonwood (Populus
heterophylla), red maple (Acer rubrum), waterlocust
(Gleditsia aquatica), overcup oak (Quercus lyrata),
water oak (Q. nigra), water hickory (Carya
aquatica), green and pumpkin ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica
and F. profunda), and sweetgum (Liquidambar
styraciflua). Swamp tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora),
pondcypress (Taxodium distichum var. nutans),
and redbay (Persea borbonia) are common associates in
the Southeast.
Small tree and shrub associates of water tupelo include
swamp-privet (Forestiera acuminata), common buttonbush
(Cephalanthus occidentalis), waterelm (Planera
aquatica), sweetbay (Magnolia uirginiana), Carolina
ash (F. caroliniana), poison-sumac (Toxicodendron
vernix), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), and
dahoon (Ilex cassine).
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Climate
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Annual rainfall throughout the range of water tupelo averages 1320
mm (52 in). Approximately 530 mm (21 in) of rain falls during the
primary growing season, April through August. Summer months are
normally much drier in the Midsouth (22).
Average summer temperature within the range of water tupelo is 27°
C (81° F); average winter temperature is 7° C (45°
F). Temperature extremes are 46° to -29° C (115°
to -20° F). An average of 231 frost-free days occur annually
over its range.
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Damaging Agents
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Fire is a major enemy of water tupelo. It
scorches the thin bark, allowing entrance of rot-causing fungi.
The forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) is a
serious enemy in some years and locations. More than 202,350 ha
(500,000 acres) of trees along the gulf coast from Louisiana
through Alabama have been defoliated by this insect in a single
year (26). Trees annually defoliated seldom die but may have 30
percent or less of the annual diameter growth of unattacked
trees.
A foliar disease, Mycosphaerella nyssaecola, has caused
premature defoliation, but impact has been negligible.
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Flowering and Fruiting
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Water tupelo is
polygamo-dioecious. The minute, greenish-white flowers appear
before or with the leaves in March or April. Pollen is
disseminated by wind and probably by bees. Fruits are oblong
drupes about 1 to 4 cm (0.5 to 1.5 in) long, with a thick epicarp
and fleshy mesocarp. When mature, September through December of
the first year, they are dark purple with conspicuous pale dots.
Each fruit contains a boney, ribbed, one-seeded stone. Stones
range in color from white to dark brown or gray and some are
pinkish white. There are about 990 cleaned seeds per kilogram
(2.2 lbs) (30).
Seeds may be sown in fall in the nursery or may be stratified over
winter and sown in the spring. For stratifying, seeds are kept in
moist sand or plastic bags at 2° to 4° C (35° to
40° F) (30). Up to 30 months storage does not reduce
viability of seeds that have a moisture content of 20 percent or
less and are kept in polyethylene bags at a temperature of about
3° C (38° F) (3).
Nursery-sown seeds may be drilled 13 to 25 mm (0.5 to 1 in) deep
at the rate of 50/m (15/ft) of row, or they may be broadcast and
rolled into the soil. A seedbed density of 110 to 165 seedlings/m²
(10 to 15 seedlings/ft²) is recommended. From 25 to 37 mm (I
to 1.5 in) of sawdust mulch is recommended for broadcast seeds.
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Genetics
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There is considerable variation in specific gravity and fiber
length among stands, between trees within a stand, and within
individual trees. Depending on seed source, seedlings grown under
similar water regimes have different rates of development (15).
No racial variations or hybrids have been recognized for
forest-grown water tupelo.
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Growth and Yield
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Growing season flooding that is just
short of continuous may provide near-optimum soil moisture for
growth of water tupelo (2). Any drastic change in normal water
levels can decrease growth. On a good site in South Carolina,
30-year-old trees of sprout and seed origin averaged about 23 m
(75 ft) tall and 33 cm (13 in) in diameter (16). (Note:
determination of tree age may be difficult because the species is
known to have false rings.) With an abundance of sunlight, trees
growing on a good site for 50 to 75 years may reach 51 to 66 cm
(20 to 26 in) in diameter above the butt swell, contain from 2 to
3.5 4.9-m (16 ft) logs, and begin development of heartwood (2).
In poorly drained swamps in the southeastern United States,
average annual production of water tupelo stands was found to be
between 6.3 and 7.0 m³/ha (90 and 100 ft³/acre).
Ten-year average diameter growth for trees free to grow in
unmanaged stands on an average site is about 8 cm (3 in) (28).
Growth and Yield were tabulated at 10-year intervals for
unmanaged stands in the Atchafalaya Basin of southern Louisiana
as follows (9):
Age
Average
D.b.h.
Height
Total
merchantable volume (peeled wood)
yr
cm
m
m³/ha
30
16.8
14
156
40
24.1
17
243
50
42.2
25
331
in
ft
ft³/acre
30
6.6
46
2,225
40
9.5
56
3,475
50
16.6
81
4,725
Under management, a pure even-aged stand carried to 107 cm (42 in)
in diameter above the bottleneck is estimated to have an
accumulative total yield of 676 m³/ha (48,282 mbf/acre,
Doyle log rule) in logs and 441 m/ha (70 cords/acre). These
yields are based on an assumed cutting cycle of from 8 to 15
years (28).
Basal areas between 57 and 69 m²/ha (250 and 300 ft²/acre)
are not uncommon in pure unmanaged second-growth stands. For a
less dense water tupelo stand in Florida, the following volumes
were recorded (24):
Age
Average
diameter above bottleneck
Total
merchentable volume (outside bark)
Basal
area
yr
cm
m³/ha
m²/ha
60
31.8
355
38.6
70
34.8
429
44.5
in
ft³/acre
ft²/acre
60
12.5
5,077
168
70
13.7
6,133
194
Growth and yield of water tupelo in plantations are generally
unknown. One small 17-year-old planting at a 1.7 by 1.7 m (5.5 by
5.5 ft) spacing on Falaya silt loam had 89 percent survival. The
trees that grew best averaged 13.2 cm (5.2 in) in d.b.h. and were
14.9 m (49 ft) tall (5).
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Reaction to Competition
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Water tupelo is classed as
intolerant of shade. It will survive codominant but not
overtopping competition. Water tupelo develops in pure, very
dense, second-growth stands and has a tendency to stagnate.
Unless stagnation is prolonged, it responds to thinning .
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Rooting Habit
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Water tupelo commonly grows in saturated
soils where its shallow root system is characterized by
morphological and physiological adaptations that are essential to
survival and growth (table 1).
Table 1- Root characteristics of swamp tupelo
and water tupelo as affected by drainage (13)
Root characteristics
Roots well
aerated
Roots
flooded
Morpology
Small diameter
and fiborous except at the apex
Succulent with
very little branching
Epidermis
Highly
suberized
Little or not
suberization
Endodermis
Highly
organized, with Casparian strips
Poorly
organized, Casparian strips not evident
Adventitious water root
None
Prolific just
below water line¹
Intercellular space in
cortex
Abundant
Abundant
Oxides-
rhizospheres in anaerobic conditions
No
Yes
¹May
be absent on water tupelo under many types of flooding.
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Seed Production and Dissemination
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Forest trees initiate
seed production in about 30 years or when they are about 20 cm (8
in) in d.b.h. In a South Carolina study, however, viable seeds
were produced by 2-year-old stump sprouts (27). Large trees
normally produce good to excellent crops each year. Seeds are
dispersed mainly by water. As long as the exocarp is intact, the
fruit will float. Seeds submerged continuously in water may
remain viable for at least 14 months (1).
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Seedling Development
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Germination is epigeal. Seeds do not
germinate until water recedes, which may be midway to late in the
growing season (29). Partially shaded, wet, poorly-drained soils
provide the best seedbed. Seeds buried I to 3 cm (0.5 to 1 in)
deep in the soil have a better chance to germinate and establish
seedlings than seeds on the soil surface. Seedling survival and
development are best in full sunlight and in soil with a pH below
7.0 (25). Seedling development is better in saturated than in
well-drained soil, in moving and aerated rather than stagnant
water, and in shallow rather than deep water (6,7,11,17).
Provided their tops are above water, seedlings can generally
survive continuous flooding even if it persists throughout the
growing season. Water tupelo is able to survive where it is too
wet for most other species because of anatomical and
physiological adaptations such as roots that allow for oxidation
of the rhizosphere and controlled anaerobic respiration (12,18).
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Soils and Topography
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Water tupelo grows in low, wet flats or sloughs and in deep
swamps. Some of the better sites are in the sloughs and swamps
along Coastal Plain rivers of the Southeast, such as the Roanoke
and Santee, and in the large swamps of southwestern Louisiana and
southeastern Texas. On some sites water may reach a depth of 6 m
(20 ft) during rainy seasons and may remain as high as 4 m (13
ft) for long periods (21). Surface water may disappear from water
tupelo areas in midsummer or fall, but on better sites soil
moisture remains at or near saturation level throughout most of
the growing season.
Soils that commonly support water tupelo range from mucks and
clays to silts and sands and are in the orders Alfisols,
Entisols, Histosols, and Inceptisols. Most are moderately to
strongly acidic; subsoil frequently is rather pervious. Site
index of water tupelo for several Midsouth soils ranges from 21
to 27 m (70 to 90 ft) at 50 years (4).
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Special Uses
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Since water tupelo is one of the few species that can survive
extended periods of inundation, it is favored for planting in
very wet microsites, around buildings, in parks, and elsewhere.
It is also an important wildlife species. The fruit is consumed
by wood ducks, several other kinds of birds, and by squirrels,
raccoons, and deer (10). Flowers have some value as a source of
tupelo honey. Deer feed on foliage, twigs, and stump sprouts.
Water tupelo wood has fine, uniform texture and interlocked grain.
When dried properly, the lumber is used for boxes, pallets,
crates, baskets, and furniture. Buttresses of trees growing in
flooded areas contain wood that is much lighter in weight than
that from upper portions of the same trees. The butt portion is
probably best suited for pulping products
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Vegetative Reproduction
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Water tupelo is a prolific stump
sprouter. Stumps of cut seedlings 15 cm (6 in) above ground level
may be better sprouters than those 1 cm (0.5 in) in height.
Sprouts develop adventitiously from the higher stumps and from
suppressed buds on lower stumps (14). Survival and development of
sprouts from stumps of larger trees are not always satisfactory,
and it may be that the occurrence and persistence of stump
sprouts are related to timing and duration of flooding. In South
Carolina, trees of sprout origin grew as well as seedlings over a
30-year period (16), but in southern Louisiana few stump sprouts
survived beyond 6 years (20).
There are no practical techniques for reproducing water tupelo
through cuttings or layering.
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Brief Summary
provided by Silvics of North America
Cornaceae Dogwood family
R. L. Johnson
Water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), also called cottongum,
sourgum, swamp tupelo, tupelo-gum, and water-gum, is a large,
long-lived tree that grows in southern swamps and flood plains
where its root system is periodically under water. It has a
swollen base that tapers to a long, clear bole and often occurs
in pure stands. A good mature tree will produce commercial timber
used for furniture and crates. Many kinds of wildlife eat the
fruits and it is a favored honey tree.
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Distribution
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Water tupelo grows throughout the Coastal Plain from southeastern
Virginia to southern Georgia, and from northwestern Florida along
the Gulf of Mexico to southeastern Texas. It extends up the
Mississippi River Valley as far north as the southern tip of
Illinois.
-The native range of water tupelo.
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Nyssa aquatica
provided by wikipedia EN
Nyssa aquatica, commonly called the water tupelo,[2] cottongum,[3] wild olive,[3] large tupelo,[3] tupelo-gum,[2] or water-gum,[2] is a large, long-lived tree in the tupelo genus (Nyssa) that grows in swamps and floodplains in the Southeastern United States.[4]
Nyssa aquatica trunks have a swollen base that tapers up to a long, clear bole, and its root system is periodically under water.[4] Water tupelo trees often occur in pure stands.
Names
Nyssa aquatica's genus name (Nyssa) refers to a Greek water nymph;[5] the species epithet aquatica, meaning ‘aquatic’, refers to its swamp and wetland habitat.
One of the species' common names, tupelo, is of Native American origin, coming from the Creek words ito ‘tree’ and opilwa ‘swamp’; it was in use by the mid-18th century[6]
Uses
A large mature tree can produce commercial timber used for furniture and crates. The swollen base of the Nyssa aquatica is the source of a favored wood of wood carvers.
Many kinds of wildlife eat the fruit, and it is a favored honey tree.[4]
Gallery
Branch with inflorescences
References
-
^ Stritch, L. (2018). "Nyssa aquatica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T61990552A61990555. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T61990552A61990555.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
-
^ a b c "Nyssa aquatica". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
-
^ a b c Bailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium (1976). Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-02-505470-7.
-
^ a b c Johnson, R. L. (1990). "Nyssa sylvatica". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Hardwoods. Silvics of North America. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Vol. 2 – via Southern Research Station.
-
^ Werthner, William B. (1935). Some American Trees: An intimate study of native Ohio trees. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. xviii + 398 pp.
-
^ New Oxford American Dictionary (2nd ed.).
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Nyssa aquatica: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Nyssa aquatica, commonly called the water tupelo, cottongum, wild olive, large tupelo, tupelo-gum, or water-gum, is a large, long-lived tree in the tupelo genus (Nyssa) that grows in swamps and floodplains in the Southeastern United States.
Nyssa aquatica trunks have a swollen base that tapers up to a long, clear bole, and its root system is periodically under water. Water tupelo trees often occur in pure stands.
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