bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Symplocos tinctoria (the common sweetleaf,[2] 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 DBH. 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.[3]

Symplocos tinctoria
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific 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

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. Only representative of the genus in North America, mostly in the southeast.

Ecology

The foliage is relished by browsing wildlife.[4]

Uses

A yellow dye was once made from the bark and leaves. The bark was used as a tonic by early American settlers.[4]

References

Gallery

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External links

• http://www.carolinanature.com/trees/syti.html
• http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=364
• http://www.rnr.lsu.edu/plantid/species/sweetleaf/sweetleaf.htm
• http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SYTI
• http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Symplocos+tinctoria
• https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/symplocos-tinctoria/
• http://garden.org/plants/view/85584/Sweetleaf-Symplocos-tinctoria/

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