Botany Quiz: Which of these is characteristic of Black Gum/Nyssa sylvatica tree?

Kids love making worm pies. Fun when mothers who aren't gardeners react with such shock!

(Live worms - no creature was ever hurt in my presence though there's a deer I'd love to kill)

i was right but it was a complete guess. wish i could be this lucky in las vegas.

After researching this tree, (that's not cheating--that's learning) I'm wondering if it might make a good bonsai tree. Slow growing, interesting bark texture, pretty foliage, etc. These are things I would never have known if it wasn't for the Voting Booth question. Also, if anyone ever asks, I know where railroad ties come from now.

Hi neighbor!

I guess I missed it, where DO railroad ties come from?

;-)

Railroad ties are made from *Black Gum Trees*. {:-)

http://ostermiller.org/tree/blackgum.html

last paragraph.

We have both sweetgum and blackgum growing here--in my yard and at the pond. The spiny fruit thing threw me a little. My blackgum is blooming now and the bloom sorta looked spiny to me. It IS unusual-looking for a bloom. I believe that the tupelo(which we get great-tasting tupelo honey from) must be slightly different but related. The tupelo trees that I'm familar with have a very fragrant bloom and blooms earlier in the Spring--around Easter here in NW FL. The blackgum that I have blooming now seems to have NO fragrance at all.

And lots of other trees, too. Probably most often from pine. But just about any tree, if the wood is reasonably hard, and then soaked in preservative.

Except nowadays, they're always made of concrete.

Resin

Thank you, Resin, for the update. I'm always happy to learn. If I'm learning and breathing then I must be still living. lol.