Nyssa sylvatica
Black gum or Black Tupelo is a widely distributed species with its native range extending from southern Ontario and Maine to Florida and as far west as Oklahoma and Texas. Black gum can grow in a variety of habitats, from wet creek bottoms to dry slopes and ridges. It can tolerate urban stress like compacted soils with high clay content, so it is often used as a street tree. Black gum is an important species in urban forests because it provides good habitat and food resources for wildlife. This tree species forms reliable cavities and dens and is often used for honey production.
Black gum is a climate-resilient candidate because of its ability to tolerate disturbance and exist within a wide range of climatic conditions and temperatures. Some of the tree's more advantageous qualities include resistance to fire top kill, except for smaller trees, vegetative sprout regeneration post-fire, high shade tolerance, and decent seedling establishment.
Though black gum is already present in much of the eastern portion of the United States, under both moderate and extreme climate change pathways of atmospheric warming, this species' habitat range will increase northward and westward. It will likely infill forests where it already is present and become even more common. Its importance value will increase throughout the U.S., especially under an extreme warming scenario.
As we look to the future of our forests, we must reconcile that some endemic species may not survive in a warmer climate. Therefore, it's important for us to consider growing and planting unconventional species to fill ecological and cultural niches left empty by species that may die out.
This infographic series was inspired in part by a presentation given by Jehane Samaha at the 2024 Canopy Conference at Haverford College, where she explored tree species that we may see more of in Pennsylvania as the climate warms. White oak is just one example. For the two range maps, we utilized data from the Community Climate System Model, version 4.0 offered through the USDA Forest Service.
Resources:
Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica). 2022. USDA Climate Change Atlas, Version 4. https://www.fs.usda.gov/nrs/atlas/tree/693?combinedSelect=5420
Blackgum. Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. 2002. USDA Plant Fact Sheet. United States Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation Service. https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_nysy.pdf
Coladonato, Milo 1992. Nyssa sylvatica, N. biflora. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/nysspp/all.html
Gilman, E. and Watson, D. 1994. Nyssa sylvatica, Blackgum. Factsheet ST-422. U.S. Forest Service and United States Department of Agriculture. https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/nyssyla.pdf
McGee, C. E. Black Tupelo. Nyssa sylvatica Marsh Fact Sheet. https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/nyssa/silvatica.htm
Peters, M.P., Prasad, A.M., Matthews, S.N., & Iverson, L.R. 2020. Climate change tree atlas, Version 4. U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station and Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Delaware, OH. https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/atlas.
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