Tupelo (tree)
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Tupelo Template:IPAc-en, genus Nyssa Template:IPAc-en,<ref>Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607</ref> is a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves.<ref name=GRIN/><ref name=":0">Template:EFloras</ref> It is sometimes included in the subfamily Nyssoideae of the dogwood family, Cornaceae, but is placed by other authorities in the family Nyssaceae.<ref name=ITIS>{{#if:27820 | {{#invoke:template wrapper|wrap|_template=cite web|_exclude=id,ID,taxon
| url = https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=27820 | title = Nyssa | publisher = Integrated Taxonomic Information System }}
| Template:Citation error }}</ref> In the APG IV system, it is placed in Nyssaceae.<ref name=APGIV>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Most Nyssa species are highly tolerant of wet soils and flooding, and some need such environments as habitat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of the species are native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada through the Eastern United States to Mexico and Central America.<ref name="GRIN" /> Other species are found in eastern and southeastern Asia, from China south through Indochina to Java and southwest to the Himalayas.<ref name=wcsp/><ref name=":0" />
NamesEdit
The genus name Nyssa refers to a Greek water nymph.<ref name=Werthner>Template:Cite book</ref> The name tupelo, the common name used for Nyssa, is of Native American origin, coming from the Creek words ito 'tree' and opilwa 'swamp'; it was in use by the mid-18th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This tree should not be confused with the tulip poplar, Liriodendron sp.
The city of Tupelo, Mississippi, is named for this tree.
SpeciesEdit
Between seven and ten living species of Nyssa are recognized:<ref name=wcsp>Template:WCSP</ref><ref name=GRIN/>
- Nyssa aquatica L. – Water tupelo (southeastern United States)
- Nyssa biflora Walter<ref name=GRIN/><ref name=ITIS/> (or Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora<ref name=wcsp/>) – Swamp tupelo, or swamp black-gum
- Nyssa javanica (Blume) Wangerin - Eastern Himalayas, Indochina, Borneo, Java, Sumatra
- Nyssa ogeche W.Bartram ex Marshall – Ogeechee tupelo (southeastern United States)
- Nyssa sinensis Oliv. – Chinese tupelo (southern China, Vietnam, Myanmar)
- †Nyssa spatulata (Scott) Manchester<ref name="Manchester1994">Template:Cite journal</ref> (Extinct, Middle Eocene; Clarno Formation, Oregon)
- Nyssa sylvatica Marshall – Black tupelo or black-gum (eastern + central United States; eastern + southern Mexico; Ontario)
- Nyssa talamancana Hammel & N.Zamora - (Panama, Costa Rica)
- †Nyssa texana Berry - (Extinct, late Eocene to early Oligocene, Whitsett and Yeuga Formations, East Texas)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Nyssa ursina
- Nyssa yunnanensis W.C.Yin – Yunnan tupelo (Yunnan)
UsesEdit
Tupelo wood is used extensively by artistic woodcarvers, especially for carving ducks and other wildfowl.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It power carves excellently and holds good detail in the end grain. In commerce, it is used for shipping containers and interior parts of furniture, and is used extensively in the veneer and panel industry for crossbanding, plywood cores, and backs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The wood can be readily pulped and is used for high-grade book and magazine papers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the past, the hollow trunks were used as "bee gums" to hold beehives.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Tupelos are popular ornamental trees for their mature form, shade, and spectacular autumn leaf colors.
Tupelos are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Endoclita damor.Template:Citation needed
The Ogeechee Tupelo, sometimes referred to as the Ocheechee Lime, which is native to Georgia and north Florida produces an edible fruit in the form of a sour, oblong drupe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
HoneyEdit
Tupelos of the species Nyssa ogeche are valued as honey plants in the southeastern United States, particularly in the Gulf Coast region.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They produce a very light, mild-tasting honey. In Florida, beekeepers keep beehives along the river swamps on platforms or floats during tupelo bloom to produce certified tupelo honey, which commands a high price on the market because of its flavor.<ref name=":1"/> Monofloral honey made from the nectar of Nyssa ogeche has such a high ratio of fructose to glucose that it does not crystallize.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Apalachicola River in the Florida panhandle is the center for tupelo honey. The honey is produced wherever tupelo trees (three species) bloom in the southeastern United States, but the purest and most expensive version (which is certified by pollen analysis) is produced in this valley. In a good harvest year, the tupelo honey crop produced by a group of specialized Florida beekeepers has a value approaching $1,000,000.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Fossil recordEdit
Fruits conforming morphologically and anatomically to Nyssa have been identified from the Campanian of Alberta, Canada. The fruits conform to a kind that is common in the Paleogene, formerly called Palaeonyssa.<ref>Assessing the Fossil Record of Asterids in the Context of Our Current Phylogenetic Framework by Steven R. Manchester, Friðgeir Grímsson, and Reinhard Zetter, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Aug 2015 : Vol. 100, Issue 4, pg(s) 329-363 doi: 10.3417/2014033</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Ulee's Gold, a film about a tupelo honey farmer
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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- USDA Plants Profile for Nyssa (tupelo)
- Page on Nyssa aquatica in America, including many photos, from Louisiana State University