Summary ⁶

Sourwood or sorrel tree (Oxydendrum arboreum, /ˌɒksɨˈdɛndrəm ɑrˈbɔəriəm/) is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois; it is most common in the lower chain of the Appalachian Mountains. The tree is frequently seen as a component of oak-heath forests.

Barcode data: oxydendrum arboreum ⁷

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Importance to livestock and wildlife ⁸

Sourwood sprouts are often browsed by white-tailed deer [14,30].  In a
study on 35 acres (14 ha) of the Pisgah National Forest in North
Carolina, browse utilization of sourwood twigs by white-tailed deer was
74 percent [8].

Special uses ⁹

Sourwood is occasionally used as an ornamental because of its  brilliant fall color and midsummer flowers (7). It is of little  value as a timber species the wood is heavy and is used locally  for handles and fuel and in mixture with other species for pulp  (8). Sourwood is important as a source of honey in some areas and  sourwood honey is marketed locally.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Andy Newman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Andy Newman
2. (c) teamtigerlily, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
3. (c) Megan Hansen, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/nestmaker/4849805412/
4. (c) Steven J. Baskauf, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/11624
5. (c) "<a href=""http://www.knps.org"">Kentucky Native Plant Society</a>. Scanned by <a href=""http://www.omnitekinc.com/"">Omnitek Inc</a>.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=oxar_001_avd.tif
6. Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxydendrum_arboreum
7. (c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/30672584
8. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24253734
9. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22778935

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

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