Nyssa sylvatica Marshall

vernacular blackgum — species · Cornaceae

USDA: NYSY
GBIF: 5383717
Rank: species

blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) — Platephotograph · mountainad82CC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Tree
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Cornaceae Bercht. & J. Presl
Genus: Nyssa

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 5 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 5 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: Low
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: Low
Salinity: Medium
Anaerobic: Low
CaCO₃: None
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -18 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 140 min.
Precipitation: 40–60 in/yr
pH range: 4.5–6
Root depth: 30 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Stem
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Moderate
Mature height: 95 ft
Height @ 20 y: 30 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Dense
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Green
Fruit colour: Blue
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Spring
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: Yes
Seeds / lb: 3,360
Propagation: seed, cuttings, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Fuelwood: Medium
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 5 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 5 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/NYSY ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5383717 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z