Tupelo

 

(tū'pĭlō, tyū–) , city (1990 pop. 30,685), seat of Lee co., NE Miss.; founded 1859, inc. 1870. It is the trade, processing, and shipping center for a cotton, grain, dairying, and livestock area. Once important for timber, the city is named after the tupelo, or black gum, tree. Dairy products, furniture, lighting fixtures, corrugated partitions, tires, and wood- and metalworking machinery are produced, and there is poultry processing. A U.S. fish hatchery is there. On the Civil War battlefield of Tupelo, now a national battlefield (see National Parks and Monuments, table), Union troops repulsed an attack by Gen. N. B. Forrest (July 14, 1864) but nevertheless retreated. Nearby is the scene of a victory of Chickasaw and British forces over the Choctaw and French (May 26, 1736). Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo; his home is a tourist attraction. Tombigbee State Park and the Natchez Trace Parkway visitor center are in the vicinity.

For the city, see Tupelo, Mississippi.

Tupelo
Black tupelo foliage and immature fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Cornales Family: Cornaceae (Nyssaceae) Genus: Nyssa L.
Species
Nyssa aquatica - Water Tupelo Nyssa biflora - Swamp Tupelo Nyssa javanica - Indonesian Tupelo Nyssa leptophylla - Hunan Tupelo Nyssa ogeche - Ogeechee Tupelo Nyssa sinensis - Chinese Tupelo Nyssa sylvatica - Black Tupelo Nyssa ursina - Bear Tupelo Nyssa yunnanensis - Yunnan Tupelo

The tupelos, or pepperidge tree, genus Nyssa, are a small genus of about 9 to 11 species of trees with alternate, simple leaves. Most are highly tolerant of wet soils and flooding, some needing to grow in such environments. Five of the species are native to eastern North America from the extreme south of Canada south to eastern Mexico; the others to east and south Asia from China south to Malaysia and west to the Himalaya. A related genus, Davidia, the Dove tree, occurs in China.

Tupelos are valued honey plants in southeastern and Gulf Coast of the United States, producing a very light, mild-tasting honey. In northern 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; monofloral honey made from the nectar of the Ogeechee Tupelo has such a high ratio of fructose to glucose that it does not crystallize.

The Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle is the center for tupelo honey. The honey is produced wherever tupelo trees (three species) bloom in southeastern USA, 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 approaches US$1,000,000.

Tupelo wood is used extensively by artistic woodcarvers, especially for carving ducks and other wildfowl. 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. The wood can be readily pulped and is used for high-grade book and magazine papers. In the past, the hollow trunks were used for bee gums to hold beehives.

Tupelo trees are also popular ornamental trees for their spectacular red fall color.

Tupelos are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Endoclita damor.

In pop culture

• In 1971, musician and songwriter Van Morrison released an album entitled Tupelo Honey.
• In the 1997 movie, Ulee's Gold, the title character is a beekeeper who produces tupelo honey (the "gold" being the fine-flavored, high quality honey).
• In 2003, British Mathcore band Sikth recorded the song 'Tupelo' on the album The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild', a cover of a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds song of the same name.
• Currently, Tupelo Honey is the name of a unique folk rock band in the veins of Patty Griffin and the Indigo Girls.

References

• Nyssa in the Flora of China
• Page on Nyssa aquatica in America, from Louisiana State University
• Nyssa aquatica images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
• All About Tupelo Wood
• Varietals of Honey

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