By Jean Thomas
From time to time I develop a crush on some new plant. It’s usually something exotic, but often it’s something that’s always been there but I just never noticed it. In the past it’s been the red elder(Sambucus racemosa), or the dawn redwood(Metasequioa glyptostroboides) or the medlar (Mispelus germanica). I fell in love with these like a serial Cinderella, one by one. I’m not fickle, so I remain enamored of them all, and will talk your ear off about their charms. Most recently I have discovered the Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), or Black Gum or Pepperidge. It was love at first sight. A mixed woodland grows alongside a dirt road I use frequently. I began noticing that one stood out from the rest. I already recognized the ash and aspens and oaks and Winterberry that were tumbled together in this seasonally swampy corner. I started to notice shiny, leathery leaves and assumed they were an Azalea of some sort. Then I realized the leaf shape was wrong and the tree was too big and the trunk was too grooved. I hauled out my ID app on the phone and identified it as a Tupelo.
Imagine my surprise. I had never heard of Tupelos as anything but a town in Mississippi named after a southern tree. (Elvis’s birthplace, BTW) And here was a sample of the same southern tree in my Northern Catskills neighborhood. Of course I doubted the app and had to check. I asked my friend Tim, who is a certified Master Naturalist. He shrugged and said he had planted a couple in his yard over the last few years. Nothing exotic there. It’s native to the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida and parts west. I was still skeptical and researched some more. I had noticed that the leaves turned an amazing bright red in the fall without developing insect or disease spots. I researched a little more. Tim and the app were right. I had discovered a Tupelo tree. I haven’t found any others, but I learned that deer vacuumed up the seedlings and I was lucky the original tree had grown up before the deer could get it. I had all this excitement before I even knew all the wonderful attributes of the tree.
Listen to this, in no particular order: when it stands alone, it has the perfect shape for a shade or street tree; it grows at a slow to medium rate; the flowers and fruit are not a nuisance; the flowers are not showy, but attract bees and there is such a thing as “Tupelo Honey”; It tolerates almost any kind of soil and moisture variables; the leaves stay shiny and leathery and have very few unsightly pests; the autumn leaf color is sensational; they can be hardy to zone 4. If you’re interested in introducing one to your woodlands or lawn, listen to the podcast, “ https://ccecolumbiagreene.org/gardening/nature-calls-conversations-from-the-hudson-valley/episode-seven-getting-to-know-your-woodlands” for some information about how well trees play with others. The Tupelo is a good companion tree. If you want something a little fancier, there are cultivars and hybrids available. It might take some looking, they’re in great demand. Personally, I’m going to enjoy my beautiful wildling for a little longer. I already have a Dawn Redwood, a Medlar, and a Red Elder tree living with me. It’s getting crowded, and I don’t want any of my romances feeling slighted.
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