Nyssa sylvatica, commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal North-eastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and eastern Texas, as well as Mexico.
Nyssa sylvatica, commonly called sour gum, is a slow-growing, deciduous, Missouri native tree which occurs in a wide range of soils south of the Missouri River in the south-eastern quarter of the State.
It is primarily a lowland tree found in low wet woods, bottomlands and pond peripheries, but also can be found on dry rocky wooded slopes and ravines. A stately tree with a straight trunk and rounded crown (more pyramidal when young) that typically grows 30-50' tall, but occasionally to 90'.
Primarily dioecious (separate male and female trees), but each tree often has some perfect flowers. Small, greenish-white flowers appear in spring on long stalks (female flowers in sparse clusters and male flowers in dense heads). Although flowers are not showy, they are an excellent nectar source for bees.