Common Name: Sourwood
Latin Name: Oxydendron arboreum
Address: Kroger Parking Lot, 1904 Emmet St N.
GPS Coordinates: 38.059967,-78.49107359999999
A fountain of flowers cascading from the treetops may be the best way to describe the native Sourwood Tree, Oxydendrum arboreum.
A medium-sized tree, sourwood is a beauty in both summer and fall. In midsummer, its fragrant white flowers hang in graceful clusters, resembling tiny lilies-of-the-valley. The blossoms stand out against the tree’s deep green foliage and provide an important source of nectar for bees and other pollinators.
As summer wanes and cooler temperatures arrive, sourwood puts on another remarkable display. Its leaves turn rich shades of burgundy, crimson, and red, often coloring earlier than many surrounding trees. Against the fading greens of late summer, a mature sourwood can be an especially striking sight.
Sourwood has considerable value as a landscape tree. Its graceful form makes it well suited as a specimen in a lawn, a feature in a garden, or an ornamental companion to larger trees. Given the right site and growing conditions, sourwood can live for 100 to 200 years, making it a tree that can become a lasting part of the landscape.
Its beauty does not disappear when winter arrives. The mature tree retains its presence through the dormant season, when its deeply furrowed, distinctive bark provides texture and visual interest.
For honey lovers, sourwood has another special distinction. Honey made from nectar gathered from sourwood flowers is highly prized and is considered by many honey enthusiasts to be the finest honey produced in North America.
A Distinctive Native Tree
Sourwood is native to eastern North America and is the only species in its genus, Oxydendrum. Its natural range is concentrated in the southeastern United States, particularly in the Appalachian region.
The common name “sourwood” refers to the distinctly acidic or sour taste of its leaves. Sourwood has a remarkable number of other common names, including sorrel tree, sorrel gum, sour gum, arrow wood, elk tree, lily-of-the-valley tree, and titi tree. The leaves have long been used in traditional practices. Pioneers used the sap in preparations for fevers, the bark for chewing to soothe mouth discomfort, and leaf tea for digestive complaintsand diarrhea. The Cherokee and Catawba used its young shoots to make arrow shafts.