Black Gum 
Nyssa sylvatica 

 		 An onramental and shade tree with a conical or flat crown and many slender, horizontal branches, ranging in height from 50 to 100 ft.

BUDS: Stand out from twigs

TWIGS: Slender and light brown; may be hairy; has some short spurs; chambered pith.

BARK: Deeply grooved and checkered; gray or dark brown; thick and rough.

HABITAT: Moist lowlands and swamps; uplands in hardwood and coniferous forests.

USES: The lumber is used to make furnitures, boxes, veneer, and paper pulp. It is also a honey plant.. The fruit is consumed by a large variety of birds and mammals.mall tree, 20 to 30 ft. tall with shaggy bark when young, unlike the shagbark hickory which only becomes shaggy when mature. The name comes from the resemblance of the fruit clusters to hops used in making beer.
 
Glossary of botanical terms | Do an AltaVista search on this plant | Main page | Tree list, Common Name