WorldFloraDB - Oxydendrum arboreum

Characteristics

A deciduous tree. It grows 5-20 m tall. The tree is broadly cone shaped. The bark is thick and grey-brown. It is deeply furrowed. They leaves are oblong and 20 cm long by 7.5 cm wide. They taper to a fine point. They have very fine teeth. They are glossy dark green and smooth above and slightly hairy underneath. They turn red-yellow or purple in autumn. The leaves are long and sour tasting. The flowers are small and white. They are urn shaped and have a scent. They occur in large upright clusters. They are at the ends of the shoots. The fruit is a woody brown capsule.

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Plants to ca. 25(-35) m, with sour-tasting sap. Stems terete. Leaf blades turning red in autumn, 5.5-23.5 × 2-8 cm, base cuneate to rounded, apex acute to acuminate. Flowers: calyx lobes 1-2 × 0.7-1.4 mm; corolla 4-7 × 2.5-5.5 mm; filaments 2-3.5 mm; anthers with locules narrowed distally, tubulelike; style strongly impressed into apex of ovary. Capsules 3.5-8.5 × 2-4 mm, unicellular-hairy; placentae basal. 2n = 24.

Tree to 20 m, beginning to fl at 2–3 m; lvs oblong, elliptic, or lance-ovate, 10–15 cm, acuminate, entire or serrulate; petioles 1–1.5 cm; racemes 4–7 at end of each branch, widely spreading, 5–15 cm, persistent; pedicels 3–8 mm, minutely bracteolate near the middle; cor 6–7 mm; fr 5–7 mm; 2n=24. Woods, Pa. to s. Ind., s. to Fla. and La. June, July.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

tree

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

4.0 - 6.0

Mature height (meter)

10.0 - 10.7

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

0.8

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It is native to eastern North America. It grows in woods and by streams. It needs humus rich, acid soil. It suits hardiness zones 5-9. Arboretum Tasmania.

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Usually found as an understorey tree in well-drained gravelly soils on ridges rising above the banks of streams.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The young tender leaves are eaten. They are sour. The plant is the source of a sweet honey.

Uses	environmental use fiber fuel invertebrate food material medicinal wood
Edible	leaves
Therapeutic use	Dermatological Aid (bark), Oral Aid (bark), Gynecological Aid (unspecified), Antidiarrheal (unspecified), Gastrointestinal Aid (unspecified), Pulmonary Aid (unspecified), Respiratory Aid (unspecified), Sedative (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Heart (unspecified), Thirst (unspecified), Urogenital (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

It can be grown from seed or softwood cuttings.

Mode	cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	21
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-23
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-