OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Cornales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Nyssa aquatica   FAMILY Nyssaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Nyssa aquatica   FAMILY Cornaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Nyssa aquatica

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 141-01-002:

Nyssa aquatica   FAMILY Nyssaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)

Nyssa uniflora

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Nyssa aquatica

 

COMMON NAME:
Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_816

        

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_nyaq2_001_lvd

        

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_nyaq2_006_lvd

        

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

John B. Nelson    jbn_6910583866_89e20acf13

April    Richland County    SC

Flowers green, inconspicuous; staminate in dense clusters at peduncle end, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Mark A. Musselman    mam_tupelo041108

April    Dorchester County    SC

Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Will Stuart    wil_8457618601_1f7f364819

April    Charleston County    SC

Magnolia Plantation's Audubon Swamp

A tall tree, to 30m, with a long clear trunk with a buttressed base, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Will Stuart    wil_8496448860_6e47a4aa12

April    Dorchester County    SC

Francis Biedler Forest

Leaves entire or coarsely toothed, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Mark A. Musselman    mam_tupelo_fruit071508

July    Dorchester County    SC

Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest

Fruit bluish-purple at maturity, borne on a stalk longer than the fruit, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Mark A. Musselman    mam_tupelo_fruit093009

September    Dorchester County    SC

Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Mark A. Musselman    mam_tupelo093009

September    Dorchester County    SC

Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_n_aquatica_mc_2

October    Floyd County    GA

Coosa Prairies

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_n_aquatica_mc_4

October    Floyd County    GA

Coosa Prairies

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmnaquatica_barkbiedler

Month Unknown        SC

Francis Biedler Forest

Bark moderately furrowed into rather narrow longitudinal ridges, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo, Cotton Gum, Tupelo Gum

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmnaquatica_biedler1

Month Unknown        SC

Francis Biedler Forest

Acuminate lvs, 1-2" petioles, & glabrous twig distinguish it from N. ogeche, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Nyssa aquatica   FAMILY Nyssaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Nyssa aquatica   FAMILY Cornaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Nyssa aquatica

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 141-01-002:
Nyssa aquatica   FAMILY Nyssaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Nyssa uniflora

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Nyssa aquatica

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

975

Tree
Perennial
Dioecious or polygamo-dioecious

Habitat: River swamps, less typically in isolated upland ponds, where inundated for substantial periods of time, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring
Green
5 sepals
5-10 petals or petals absent

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Blue/Purple
Drupe

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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