Symplocos tinctoria

Symplocos tinctoria (the common sweetleaf,[3] horse-sugar, or yellowwood) is a deciduous or evergreen shrub or tree. It is recognized by pith of twigs chambered; by foliage not notably aromatic when bruised, leaves finely hairy beneath. Shrubs or trees to 17 m tall by 36 cm diameter at breast height. The largest first-year twigs are under 3 mm across, terminal buds with acute tip, scales ciliate. Leaves are 7–15 cm long, margin entire or occasionally some teeth on the apical half, with a sweet taste that may be faint in old leaves. It is conspicuous when in flower; flowers opening before new leaves develop, fragrant, in clusters from axils of previous year's leaves or from just above the leaf scars if the leaves have fallen; the petals are creamy yellow to yellow, with one pistil. Fruits nearly cylindrical to ellipsoid drupes 8–12 mm long, with thin pulp and a hard stone containing 1 seed; the tip usually retaining parts of the sepals. Foliage is relished by browsing wildlife. A yellow dye may be obtained from bark and leaves. It flowers Mar to May.[4]

Symplocos tinctoria

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Symplocaceae
Genus: Symplocos
Species:
S. tinctoria
Binomial name
Symplocos tinctoria
(L.) L'Her.

Distribution and habitat

Symplocos tinctoria is native to the southern and eastern United States, to an area from Oklahoma east to Florida and north to Maryland.[5] Occasional, plants are often scattered; uncommonly grouped; thin to dense woods of slopes, bluffs, broad-leaf woods of sandy soils, stream borders and stable dunes. It is the only representative of the genus in North America.

Ecology

The foliage is relished by browsing wildlife.[6] The branches are parasitised by galls of Exobasidium symploci that visually resemble fruits of the plant.[7]

Uses

A yellow dye was once made from the bark and leaves. The bark was used as a tonic by early American settlers.[6]

References
  1. "Symplocos tinctoria". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  2. IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group & Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) (2020). "Symplocos tinctoria". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T152857812A152905470. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  3. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Symplocos tinctoria". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. Trees of the Southeastern United States by Wilbur Howard Duncan and Marion Bennett Duncan, 1988, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, ISBN 0-8203-0954-0
  5. "Symplocos tinctoria". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  6. Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 643. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.
  7. "Symplocos tinctoria (Horsesugar, Horse-sugar, Sweetleaf) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
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