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Sourwood

Oxydendrum arboreum (L.) DC.

Broad-scale Impacts of Plant Response to Fire

provided by Fire Effects Information System Plants
More info for the terms: fire use, prescribed fire

The following Research Project Summaries
provide information on prescribed

fire use and postfire response of plant
community species, including sourwood,

that was not available when this
species review was originally

written:

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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Common Names

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sourwood
sorrel-tree
lily-of-the-valley-tree
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Cover Value

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Sourwood snags provide cavity-nesting sites for various birds in
southern Appalachian forests [24].
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Description

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More info for the terms: capsule, fruit, tree

Sourwood is a native, deciduous, medium-sized tree, 40 to 60 feet (12-15
m) tall [13,30].  It develops a slender trunk and small crown in dense
stands.  In the open it forms a short, often leaning trunk dividing into
several stout, ascending limbs [32].  The inflorescence is a raceme
emanating from a central axis.  The simple, alternate leaves are 4 to 7
inches (10-18 cm) long and variable in shape.  The fruit is a capsule
0.25 to 0.5 inch (6-13 mm) long containing many tiny seeds [9,23,42].
No information on the rooting habit of sourwood was found in the
literature.
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Distribution

provided by Fire Effects Information System Plants
Sourwood grows in upland forests of the southeastern United States.  It
is found from southern Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, to southeastern
Louisiana and the panhandle of Florida.  It also grows in the
mountainous regions of Kentucky and Tennessee and along the Atlantic
Coast from North Carolina to Virginia.  The main range of sourwood lies
between 30 and 40 degrees N. and 75 and 92 degrees W.  Sourwood reaches
its largest size on the western slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains in
Tennessee [9,30,32].
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Fire Ecology

provided by Fire Effects Information System Plants
More info for the terms: fire regime, root crown

Sourwood has the ability to sprout from the root crown or stump
following fire [4,11,16].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Fire Management Considerations

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If used as a management tool, Trousdell [39] recommends one winter fire
followed by three summer fires as the treatment most effective in
controlling sourwood.
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Growth Form (according to Raunkiær Life-form classification)

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More info for the term: phanerophyte

  
   Phanerophyte
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Habitat characteristics

provided by Fire Effects Information System Plants
More info for the terms: cover, cover type, mesic, swamp

In the central Appalachian Mountains sourwood is most abundant on
subxeric open slopes and ridges occupied by chestnut oak (Quercus
prinus), white oak (Q. alba), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), and Virginia
pine (Pinus virginiana).  It is less frequent on more mesic sites such
as coves and sheltered slopes.  Throughout this area sourwood is found
up to 5,000 feet (1,520 m) but rarely to 5,600 feet (1,710 m) in
elevation [3,6,32].

Sourwood grows throughout the Piedmont uplands.  It is also found along
Piedmont streams on well-drained lowland areas not subject to flooding.
In the Coastal Plain it is found on gently rolling areas.  Toward the
coast it is restricted to old dunes and well-drained slopes and ridges
above streams and swamp borders.  Sourwood is commonly found growing on
soils in the orders Ultisols, Inceptisols, and Entisols [5,26,32].

Other associates of sourwood in addition to the cover type species are
sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), yellow-poplar (Liriodendron
tulipifera), southern red oak (Q. falcata), red and sugar maple (Acer
rubrum and A. saccharum), shagbark, bitternut, pignut, and mockernut
hickory (Carya ovata, C. cordiformis, C. glabra, and C. tomentosa),
white ash (Fraxinus americanus), American beech (Fagus grandifolia),
eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida),
sassafras (Sassafras albidum), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana),
eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), and redbud (Cercis canadensis)
[2,18,32].
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Habitat: Cover Types

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

    40  Post oak - blackjack oak
    44  Chestnut oak
    52  White oak - black oak - northern red oak
    53  White oak
    75  Shortleaf pine
    76  Shortleaf pine - oak
    78  Virginia pine - oak
    79  Virginia pine
    81  Loblolly pine
    82  Loblolly pine - hardwood
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Habitat: Ecosystem

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Habitat: Plant Associations

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the term: forest

   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Immediate Effect of Fire

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More info for the term: ground fire

Low-severity fire typically top-kills sourwood [1,20].  Oosting [31]
reports that a single high-severity ground fire completely eliminated
sourwood from a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) community in North Carolina.
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Importance to Livestock and Wildlife

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More info for the term: forest

Sourwood sprouts are often browsed by white-tailed deer [14,30].  In a
study on 35 acres (14 ha) of the Pisgah National Forest in North
Carolina, browse utilization of sourwood twigs by white-tailed deer was
74 percent [8].
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Life Form

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More info for the term: tree

Tree
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Management considerations

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Sourwood sprouts often compete with the establishment of more desirable
species in second-growth and cutover areas [25,39].  Methods and
effectiveness of herbicide treatment for controlling sourwood and other
undesirable hardwoods have been given in detail [27,28,29,36].

Damaging Agents:  Several insects attack sourwood.  The dogwood-twig
borer (Oberea tripunctata) and the twig girdler (Oncideres cingulata)
attack the twigs.  The fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) and the hickory
horn devil (the larvae of the regal moth [Citheronia regalis]) consume
the foliage.  There are no known serious diseases that affect sourwood
[32].
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Occurrence in North America

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     AL  FL  GA  KY  LA  MD  MS  NC  OH  PA
     SC  TN  VA  WV
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Other uses and values

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Sourwood is occasionally used as an ornamental because of the brilliant
fall color of its leaves and midsummer flowers.  The flowers of sourwood
are also an important source of honey [30,32].
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bibliographic citation
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Phenology

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More info for the term: fruit

Sourwood blooms from late June to August; the fruit ripens from
September through October [30,41].
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bibliographic citation
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Plant Response to Fire

provided by Fire Effects Information System Plants
More info for the terms: density, forest, low-severity fire, prescribed fire

Sourwood is usually an increaser following low-severity fire [32].
Following an early summer prescribed fire on the Sumter National Forest
in South Carolina, sourwood stem density increased from 33 stems per acre
(82 stem/ha) to 420 stems per acre (1,040 stems/ha) [38].
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Post-fire Regeneration

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More info for the term: tree

   Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/root sucker
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bibliographic citation
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Regeneration Processes

provided by Fire Effects Information System Plants
More info for the terms: capsule, epigeal, litter, root crown, seed

Seed production and dissemination:  Estimated seed production ranging
from 1,850,000 to 5,500,000 seeds per pound (4,080,000-12,250,000
seeds/kg) has been reported [32,42].  The fruits are shed in the fall
and the seeds are dispersed gradually throughout the winter by the
dehiscing capsule.  Sourwood seeds germinate well without special
treatment [32,33].

Seedling development:  Germination is epigeal.  Seedbed requirements for
sourwood have not been reported.  In the Piedmont, sourwood seed
germination and establishment may occur on litter and under partially
shaded conditions.  Techniques for sourwood seed collection, storage,
and germination have been described [32].

Vegetative reproduction:  Sourwood sprouts prolifically and persistently
from the stump and root crown [11,17].  It is difficult to propagate
from cuttings; no reports were found of propagation from grafting [32].
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Successional Status

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Facultative seral species.

Sourwood is shade tolerant.  In the Piedmont sourwood seedlings and
saplings are found in all stages of successsion from young pine (Pinus
spp.) stands to oak-hickory (Quercus spp.- Carya spp.)  forests.
Sourwood's response to release is not known [7,32,35].
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bibliographic citation
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Taxonomy

provided by Fire Effects Information System Plants
The currently accepted scientific name for sourwood is Oxydendrum
arboreum (L.) DC. [21]. Oxydendrum is a monotypic genus [15]. There
are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms.
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Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Wood Products Value

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More info for the term: fuel

Sourwood is of little value as a commercial timber species.  The wood
is used to make tool handles and for fuel.  Sourwood is used with a
mixture of other species for pulp [30,41].
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bibliographic citation
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Comprehensive Description

provided by North American Flora
Oxydendrum arboreum (I,.) DC. Prodr. 7: 601. 1839
Andromeda arborea L. Sp. PI. 394. 1753.
Lyonia arborea D. Don, Edinb. New Phil. Jour. 17: 159. 1834.
A tree sometimes 25 m. tall, with glabrous or sparingly puberulent twigs; leaf -blades oblong, elliptic, or oval, or sometimes oblong-lanceolate, 8-20 cm. long, acuminate, sometimes short-acuminate, finely serrate, shining above, paler and sometimes glaucescent beneath, and also puberulent and sparingly pubescent on the veins, especially when young, acute or abruptly narrowed at the base, rather slender-petioled ; panicles mostly -1-2 dm. long, the branches distichous, puberulent; pedicels drooping in anthesis, erect in fruit; calyx-lobes ovate to lanceolate, 3-4 mm. long, acuminate; corolla wax-like, 6-7 mm. long, constricted at the throat, the lobes obtuse to mucronulate; stamens 5-6 mm. long; capsules ovoid, sometimes narrowly so, 4-5 mm. long, usually slightly constricted below the apex, canescent.
Type locality: Virginia. ^
Distribution: In or near the mountains, Pennsylvania and Ohio to Florida and Mississippi.
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John Kunkel Small, NathanieI Lord Britton, Per Axel Rydberg, LeRoy Abrams. 1914. ERICALES, CLETHRACEAE, LENNOACEAE, PTROLACEAE, MONOTROPACEAE, ERICACEAE, UVA-URSI. North American flora. vol 29(1). New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY
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Associated Forest Cover

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Sourwood is an understory to midcanopy associate of the following forest cover types (Society of American Foresters) (6):

40 Post Oak-Blackjack Oak
44 Chestnut Oak
51 White Pine-Chestnut Oak
52 White Oak-Black Oak-Northern Red Oak
53 White Oak
75 Shortleaf Pine
76 Shortleaf Pine-Oak
78 Virginia Pine-Oak
79 Virginia Pine
81 Loblolly Pine
82 Loblolly Pine-Hardwood
110 Black Oak

Other associates, in addition to the cover type species, are sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua); yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera); scarlet and southern red oak (Q. falcata); red and sugar maple (Acer rubrum and A. saccharum); shagbark, bitternut, pignut, and mockernut hickory (Carya ovata, C. cordiformis, C. glabra, and C. tomentosa); white ash (Fraxinus americana); American beech (Fagus grandifolia); eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis); flowering dogwood (Cornus florida); sassafras (Sassafras albidum); American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana); eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana); and redbud (Cercis canadensis).

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Climate

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Annual precipitation within the range of sourwood varies from 1020 mm (40 in) in the North to 2030 mm (80 in) in the central Appalachians. Warm season precipitation ranges from 530 mm (21 in) in the North to 910 mm. (36 in) on the gulf coast and in the Appalachians, and annual snowfall varies from none along the gulf coast to 152 cm (60 in) in the Appalachians. The length of the growing season fluctuates from 150 days in the mountains of southern Pennsylvania to 300 days in northern Florida. Temperature extremes vary from -29° C (-20° F) to 42° C (107° F) within the range of sourwood.

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Damaging Agents

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Several insects attack sour wood but normally do no serious harm (1). The dog. wood-twig borer, Oberea tripunctata, and the twig girdler, Oncideres cingulata, attack the twigs; the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (7), and the hickory horned devil (the larva of the regal moth), Citheronia regalis, attack the foliage.

There are no known reports of serious diseases that affect sourwood.

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Flowering and Fruiting

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Sourwood is among the latest of the flowering shrubs and trees to bloom, The white, bell-shaped perfect flowers appear from late June to August in copious masses on one-sided racemes clustered in an open particle. The flowers are insect pollinated and are an important honey source in some areas (14).

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Genetics

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No studies on the genetic characteristics of sourwood have been reported.

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Growth and Yield

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The maximum size for sourwood is 24 in (80 ft) in height and 61 cm (24 in) in diameter. It is typically much smaller, reaching 6 to 15 in (20 to 50 ft) in height and 20 to 30 cm (8 to 1 in) in diameter (11).

Sourwood usually remains in the forest understory from seedling to maturity. It occasionally enters the overstory in Piedmont lowland pine stands, but on upland sites it attains the upper canopy only if some disturbance removes the overtopping vegetation (10)

Sourwood develops a slender trunk and small crown in dense stands. In more open situations it forms a short, often leaning trunk dividing into several stout, ascending limbs. Growth is slow in established stands, but the initial growth of sprout in cutover areas is rapid enough to hinder establishment of more desirable species (7,12). Per-acre volume estimates are not available for this specie because it usually grows in mixture with other species rather than in pure stands.

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Reaction to Competition

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Sourwood is classed as tolerant of shade and can grow and reproduce in the understory of climax (oak-hickory) forest (3,10,11). Its response to release is not definitely known but is thought to be poor.

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Rooting Habit

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No information is currently available on the rooting habit of sourwood.

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Seed Production and Dissemination

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The fruit is a capsule 6 to 13 min (0.25 to 0.5 in) in length. It ripens in September and October, and the tiny seeds are dispersed gradually throughout the winter by the dehiscing capsule. The number of seeds in clean lots range from 4 080 000 to 12 125 000 seeds per kilogram (1,850,000 to 5,500,000/lb) (14).

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Seedling Development

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Seedbed requirements are not known for natural regeneration. In the Piedmont, however, sourwood seedlings and saplings are found in all stages of succession from young pine stands to the oak-hickory climax (10). This indicates that seed germination and establishment may occur on litter and under partially shaded conditions.

Techniques have been described for sourwood seed collection, storage, and germination (2,5,14). Acid sandy peat is recommended as a seedbed for sourwood. Germination is epigeal.

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Soils and Topography

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In the central Appalachians sourwood is most abundant on subxeric open slopes and ridges occupied by chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), white oak (Q. alba), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), and Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana). It appears less frequently on more mesic sites such as coves and sheltered slopes (17). Throughout this area sourwood is found up to 1520 m (5,000 ft) but rarely to 1710 m (5,600 ft) (13).

Sourwood grows throughout the Piedmont uplands. It is also found along Piedmont streams on well-drained lowland areas not subject to ordinary flooding (10). Where it enters the Coastal Plain it is found on the gently rolling areas of the upper portion; toward the coast it is restricted to old dunes and well-drained slopes and ridges above streams and swamp borders.

Like most of the Ericaceae, sourwood generally does not grow on soils of limestone origin (8,11) but is most commonly found growing on soils in the orders Ultisols, Inceptisols, and Entisols.

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Special Uses

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Sourwood is occasionally used as an ornamental because of its brilliant fall color and midsummer flowers (7). It is of little value as a timber species the wood is heavy and is used locally for handles and fuel and in mixture with other species for pulp (8). Sourwood is important as a source of honey in some areas and sourwood honey is marketed locally.

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Vegetative Reproduction

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Sourwood sprouts prolifically and persistently from the stump and often must be treated with herbicides to release more desirable species in second growth and in cutover areas (7,9,12,15). Sourwood is difficult to propagate from cuttings. A single report found softwood cuttings (short side shoots), made with a heel and taken in late July with a 90 ppm IBA soak, rooted 80 percent when placed in a sand:peat (equal volumes) mix under mist (5). No reports were found of propagation by grafting.

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Brief Summary

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Ericaceae -- Heath family

Ronald P. Overton

Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) grows in the upland forests of the southeastern United States. Also known as sorrel-tree or lily-of-the-valley-tree, its flowers are an important source of honey in some areas but it is of little value as a timber species. Sourwood sprouts often interfere with the establishment of more desirable species in second-growth and cutover areas. This mid-summer flowering tree is an attractive ornamental.

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Distribution

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Sourwood is found from southwest Pennsylvania to southern Ohio, and southern Indiana, south to southeastern Louisiana and the coastal region of Mississippi, Alabama, and northwest Florida; west to western Kentucky and Tennessee, and to the Delta in Mississippi; and east to the Atlantic coast from southern Virginia to central North Carolina, and to the edge of the Coastal Plain in South Carolina and Georgia. The main range lies between latitude 30° and 40° N. and longitude 75° and 92° W. Sourwood reaches its largest size on the western slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.


-The native range of sourwood.


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Silvics of North America

Oxydendrum

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Oxydendrum arboreum, /ˌɒksɪˈdɛndrəm ɑːrˈbɔːriəm/[2] the sourwood or sorrel tree, is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois; it is most common in the lower chain of the Appalachian Mountains. The tree is frequently seen as a component of oak-heath forests.[3][4]

Foliage

Growth

Sourwood is a small tree or large shrub, growing to 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall with a trunk up to 50 cm (20 in) diameter. Occasionally on extremely productive sites, this species can reach heights in excess of 30 meters and 60 cm diameter. The leaves are alternately arranged, deciduous, 8–20 cm (3.1–7.9 in) long and 4–9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) broad, with a finely serrated margin; they are dark green in summer, but turn vivid red in fall. The flowers are white, bell-shaped, 6–9 mm ( 1/4 to 1/3 inch) long, produced on 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) long panicles. The fruit is a small woody capsule. The roots are shallow, and the tree grows best when there is little root competition; it also requires acidic soils for successful growth. The leaves can be chewed (but should not be swallowed) to help alleviate a dry-feeling mouth.

Description

Raceme of flowers

The bark is gray with a reddish tinge, deeply furrowed and scaly. Branchlets at first are light yellow green, but later turn reddish brown. The wood is reddish brown, with paler sapwood; it is heavy, hard, and close-grained, and will take a high polish. Its specific gravity is 0.7458, with a density of 46.48 lb/cu ft.

The winter buds are axillary, minute, dark red, and partly immersed in the bark. Inner scales enlarge when spring growth begins.

Leaves are alternate, four to seven inches long, 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide, oblong to oblanceolate, wedge-shaped at the base, serrate, and acute or acuminate. Leaf veins are feather-veined, the midrib is conspicuous. They emerge from the bud revolute, bronze green and shining, and smooth; when full-grown, they are dark green, shining above, and pale and glaucous below. In autumn, they turn bright scarlet. Petioles are long and slender, with stipules wanting. They are heavily laden with acid.

In June and July, cream-white flowers are borne in terminal panicles of secund racemes seven to eight inches long; rachis and short pedicels are downy. The calyx is five-parted and persistent; lobes are valvate in bud. The corolla is ovoid-cylindric, narrowed at the throat, cream-white, and five-toothed. The 10 stamens are inserted on the corolla; filaments are wider than the anthers; anthers are two-celled. The pistil is ovary superior, ovoid, and five-celled; the style is columnar; the stigma is simple; the disk is ten-toothed, and ovules are many.

The fruit is a capsule, downy, five-valved, five-angled, and tipped by the persistent style; the pedicels are curving.[5]

Cultivation and uses

The sourwood is perfectly hardy in the north and a worthy ornamental tree in lawns and parks. Its late bloom makes it desirable, and its autumnal coloring is particularly beautiful and brilliant. The leaves are heavily charged with acid, and to some extent have the poise of those of the peach.[5] The leaves are also a laxative.[6]

It is renowned for nectar, and for the honey which is produced from it.[7][8] Juice from its blooms is used to make sourwood jelly. The shoots were used by the Cherokee and the Catawba to make arrowshafts.

In Appalachian culture

Sourwood Mountain is a popular old-time tune in the Appalachian region of the United States.

Gallery

References

  1. ^ Stritch, L. (2018). "Oxydendrum arboreum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T62002889A62003254. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T62002889A62003254.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. pp. 606–607.
  3. ^ "The Natural Communities of Virginia Classification of Ecological Community Groups (Version 2.3)". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. 2010. Archived from the original on 2009-01-15.
  4. ^ Schafale, M. P.; A. S., Weakley (1990). Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina: third approximation. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation.
  5. ^ a b Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 192–194.
  6. ^ "Sourwood | Augusta, GA - Official Website". www.augustaga.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  7. ^ Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, Dewey M. Caron and Lawrence John Conner, 2013. page 151
  8. ^ National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees, Eastern Region, North America, 2003, page 626

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Oxydendrum: Brief Summary

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Oxydendrum arboreum, /ˌɒksɪˈdɛndrəm ɑːrˈbɔːriəm/ the sourwood or sorrel tree, is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois; it is most common in the lower chain of the Appalachian Mountains. The tree is frequently seen as a component of oak-heath forests.

Foliage
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