The quest had begun. But first, I dove into the research
to make sense of what I saw, resulting in a much deeper
appreciation for Nyssa sylvatica. It turns out my forest
ecology professor from Penn State (Marc Abrams) wrote
Tales from the Blackgum, a Consummate Subordinate
Tree (2007), a rich article that synthesizes the ecolog-
ical studies and research up until that time. Tupelo (or
blackgum, or black tupelo, or sourwood) is the lon-
gest-lived hardwood species east of the Mississippi, a
remarkable distinction. It is known to live 650 years
or more! This speaks to its ability to grow slowly and
happily within the understory until a canopy gap occurs.
Nyssa sylvatica loves bottomland sites, but can grow
upland as well. In fact, it does a lot of things well, con-
tributing to its great range (Texas to Michigan over to
Maine). Rich soils, poor soils, wet or dry, understory
or in the open, it doesn't seem to matter, although
tupelo is almost never the dominant species in any
forest. Its blue-black fruit—a fleshy drupe—is adored
by birds and other wildlife, and bees are drawn to its
nectar-rich flowers. (However, "tupelo honey" is pro-
duced from the related Ogeechee tupelo (N. ogeche)
that grows in swamps along the Florida-Georgia border.)
In my reading I found out that indeed, tupelo is native to
Cape Cod. Tupelos that grew on the mainland were likely
cut—like the rest of the forest—by settlers who cleared
the land to heat their homes and create fields for agri-
culture. The forest that exists on the Cape now is only
about 100 to 140 years old, and owes its reestablish-
ment to the quick growing pitch pine, followed by black
oak, white oak, and other species. Despite its ability
to grow in nutrient poor soils, the very slow growing
tupelo would not have been able to keep up—unless
some got lucky, and here lies a hypothesis. The primary
way tupelo trees spread over long distances is by birds
who eat the tupelo fruit and excrete seeds. Maybe
there was a random tupelo seed drop on Gross Hill
long ago, paired with a happenstance disturbance that
allowed a tupelo to survive among its competitors. >>
After years of choosing trees at nurseries,
creating species lists, and participating in
the greater dialogue, we city foresters think
we know it all when it comes to trees.
urban-forestry.com 33
