Editing Tupelo (tree)

{{Short description|Genus of trees}}
{{Other uses|Tupelo (disambiguation){{!}}Tupelo}}
{{distinguish|Liriodendron tulipifera{{!}}the tulip tree, ''Liriodendron tulipifera''}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Nyssa sylvatica flowers.jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Nyssa sylvatica]]'' foliage and flowers
|taxon = Nyssa
|authority = [[Jan Frederik Gronovius|Gronov.]] ex [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref>
|synonyms_ref = <ref name=wcsp/>
|synonyms = *''Tupelo'' <small>Adans.</small>
* ''Agathisanthes'' <small>Blume</small>
* ''Ceratostachys'' <small>Blume</small>
* ''Streblina'' <small>Raf.</small>
* ''Daphniphyllopsis'' <small>Kurz</small>
}}

'''Tupelo''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|uː|p|ᵻ|l|oʊ}}, genus '''''Nyssa''''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɪ|s|ə}},<ref>''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607</ref> is a small [[genus]] of [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s with alternate, simple leaves.<ref name=GRIN/><ref name=":0">{{eFloras|2|122537|Nyssa |family=Nyssaceae |first1=Haining |last1=Qin |first2=Chamlong |last2=Phengklai | access-date = 19 February 2016}}</ref> It is sometimes included in the subfamily Nyssoideae of the [[Cornus (genus)|dogwood]] family, [[Cornaceae]], but is placed by other authorities in the family [[Nyssaceae]].<ref name=ITIS>{{ITIS|id=27820|taxon=Nyssa|access-date=20 February 2016}}</ref> In the [[APG IV system]], it is placed in Nyssaceae.<ref name=APGIV>{{Cite journal|author=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2016|title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV|journal=[[Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society]]|volume=181|issue=1|pages=1–20|issn=0024-4074|doi=10.1111/boj.12385|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Most ''Nyssa'' species are highly tolerant of wet [[soil]]s and [[flood]]ing, and some need such environments as habitat.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Nyssa|url = http://www.southeastgarden.com/nyssa.html|website = Gardening in the Coastal Southeast|access-date = 21 February 2016}}</ref> Some of the species are [[native plant|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" />

==Names==
The genus name ''Nyssa'' refers to a [[ancient Greece|Greek]] [[naiad|water nymph]].<ref name=Werthner>{{cite book|last=Werthner|first=William B.|title=Some American Trees: An intimate study of native Ohio trees|year=1935|publisher=The Macmillan Company|location=New York|pages=xviii + 398 pp}}</ref> The name '''tupelo''', the common name used for ''Nyssa'', is of Native American origin, coming from the [[Creek language|Creek]] words ''ito'' 'tree' and  ''opilwa'' 'swamp';  it was in use by the mid-18th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition}}</ref>  This tree should not be confused with the [[tulip poplar]], ''[[Liriodendron]] sp''.

The city of [[Tupelo, Mississippi]], is named for this tree.

==Species==
[[File:2014-11-02 12 47 05 Black Tupelo during autumn at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, New Jersey.JPG|left|thumb|''Nyssa sylvatica'' turning scarlet in autumn]]
Between seven and ten living species of ''Nyssa'' are recognized:<ref name=wcsp>{{WCSP|accessdate=20 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=GRIN/>
* ''[[Nyssa aquatica]]'' <small>L.</small> &ndash; Water tupelo (southeastern United States)
* ''[[Nyssa biflora]]'' <small>Walter</small><ref name=GRIN/><ref name=ITIS/> (or ''Nyssa sylvatica'' var. ''biflora''<ref name=wcsp/>) – Swamp tupelo, or swamp black-gum
* ''[[Nyssa javanica]]'' <small>(Blume) Wangerin</small> - Eastern Himalayas, Indochina, Borneo, Java, Sumatra
* ''[[Nyssa ogeche]]'' <small>W.Bartram ex Marshall</small> &ndash; Ogeechee tupelo (southeastern United States)
* ''[[Nyssa sinensis]]'' <small>Oliv.</small> &ndash; Chinese tupelo  (southern China, Vietnam, Myanmar)
* †''[[Nyssa spatulata]]'' <small>(Scott) Manchester</small><ref name="Manchester1994">{{Cite journal |last1=Manchester |first1=S.R. |title=Fruits and Seeds of the Middle Eocene Nut Beds Flora, Clarno Formation, Oregon |year=1994 |journal=Palaeontographica Americana |volume=58 |pages=30–31}}</ref> (Extinct, Middle Eocene; Clarno Formation, Oregon)
* ''[[Nyssa sylvatica]]'' <small>Marshall</small> &ndash; Black tupelo or black-gum (eastern + central United States; eastern + southern Mexico; Ontario)
* ''[[Nyssa talamancana]]'' <small>Hammel & N.Zamora</small> - (Panama, Costa Rica)
* †''[[Nyssa texana]]'' <small>Berry ''-''</small> (Extinct, late Eocene to early Oligocene, Whitsett and Yeuga Formations, East Texas)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huegele |first=Indah B. |last2=Manchester |first2=Steven R. |date=2019 |title=Newly Recognized Diversity of Fruits and Seeds from the Late Paleogene Flora of Trinity County, East Texas, USA |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/704358 |journal=International Journal of Plant Sciences |language=en |volume=180 |issue=7 |pages=681–708 |doi=10.1086/704358 |issn=1058-5893 |via=University of Chicago Press journals}}</ref>
* ''[[Nyssa ursina]]''
* ''[[Nyssa yunnanensis]]'' <small>W.C.Yin</small> &ndash; Yunnan tupelo  (Yunnan)
{{Clear}}

==Uses==
[[File:NyssaSylvaticaTrunk.jpg|thumb|right|Trunk of a mature ''Nyssa sylvatica'' tree]]
Tupelo wood is used extensively by artistic [[woodcarver]]s, especially for carving ducks and other wildfowl.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Nyssa aquatica, Water Tupelo|url = https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr324|website = edis.ifas.ufl.edu|date = 2013-07-29|access-date = 2016-02-21|first = Michael G. Andreu, Melissa H. Friedman, Mary McKenzie, and Heather V.|last = Quintana}}</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 [[wood veneer|veneer]] and panel industry for crossbanding, [[plywood]] cores, and backs.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-298-w.pdf|title = Black Gum and Tupelo|access-date = 21 February 2016|publisher = Purdue University|series = Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Series|department = Purdue Extension}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932: The Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States|url = https://archive.org/details/fromamericansyst0000houn|url-access = registration|publisher = JHU Press|date = 1985-09-01|isbn = 978-0-8018-3158-4|language = en|first = David|last = Hounshell}}</ref> The wood can be readily [[wood pulp|pulped]] and is used for high-grade book and magazine papers.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Paper Trade Journal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dBNQAQAAIAAJ|publisher = Lockwood Trade Journal Company|date = 1911|language = en}}</ref>  In the past, the hollow trunks were used as "[[bee gum]]s" to hold [[beehive (beekeeping)|beehives]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Crane, Ethel Eva|title=The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVh3AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA305|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|page=305|isbn=978-1-136-74669-7}}</ref>

Tupelos are popular [[ornamental tree]]s for their mature form, shade, and spectacular [[autumn leaf color]]s.

Tupelos are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species, including ''[[Endoclita damor]]''.{{Citation needed|date = February 2016}}

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>{{cite book|last=Boning|first=Charles|title=Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs, and Vines|year=2006|publisher=Pineapple Press, Inc.|location=Sarasota, Florida|pages=158–159}}</ref>

===Honey===
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">{{Cite web|title = Tupelo|url = http://www.honey.com/honey-locator/varietals/tupelo|website = www.honey.com|access-date = February 21, 2016|publisher = National Honey Board|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303121616/http://www.honey.com/honey-locator/varietals/tupelo|archive-date = March 3, 2016}}</ref> They produce a very light, mild-tasting honey. In Florida, [[beekeeper]]s 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>{{Cite web|title = Liquid Gold|url = http://gardenandgun.com/article/liquid-gold|website = Garden & Gun|access-date = 2016-02-21}}</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 [[Melissopalynology|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>{{cite book|last1=Largo|first1=Michael|title=The Big, Bad Book of Botany: The World's Most Fascinating Flora|date=2014|publisher=HarperCollins}}</ref>

==Fossil record==
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 also ==
* ''[[Ulee's Gold]]'', a film about a tupelo honey farmer

==References==
{{Reflist|31em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Nyssa}}
{{Wikispecies|Nyssa}}
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=NYSSA USDA Plants Profile for ''Nyssa'' (tupelo)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070227101429/http://rnrstreamer.lsu.edu/ecosystems/webtour/species/watertupelo/watertupelo.htm Page on ''Nyssa aquatica'' in America], including many photos, from [[Louisiana State University]]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q964952}}

[[Category:Nyssa (genus)]]
[[Category:Swamps of Florida]]