tupelo

(botany) Any of various trees belonging to the genus Nyssa of the sour gum family, Nyssaceae, distinguished by small, obovate, shiny leaves, a small blue-black drupaceous fruit, and branches growing at a wide angle from the axis.

A tree belonging to the genus Nyssa of the sour gum family, Nyssaceae. The most common species is N. sylvatica, variously called pepperidge, black gum, or sour gum, the authorized name being black tupelo. Tupelo grows in the easternmost third of the United States; southern Ontario, Canada; and Mexico.

The tree can be identified by the comparatively small, obovate, shiny leaves and by branches that develop at a wide angle from the axis. The fruit is a small blue-black drupe, a popular food for birds. The wood is yellow to light-brown and hard to split because of the twisted grain. Tupelo is used for boxes, baskets, and berry crates, and as backing on which veneers of rarer and more expensive woods are glued. It is also used for flooring, rollers in glass factories, hatters' blocks, and gunstocks. See also Myrtales.