Tree identification

[Skelly]

I have this type of tree that I haven’t been able to indentify. The guy that cut the trees from around my house said he wasn’t sure what it was either.

It sprouts heavily and deer absolutely hammer it.

It doesnt flower. It doesn’t have any mast that comes from it.

Thanks in advance

 

[homerj]

Persimmon

 

[Skelly]

I wish it was a persimmon. That particular tree I took the photo of is 24”-30” in diameter at the base. Not sure if they get that big

Bark looks similar. Leaves are thinner than other persimmon I’ve seen.

 

[Native Hunter]

From what you have said, It's likely a male Black Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) (aka Black Gum).

But you can make certain that it's not a persimmon rather than a BT by pulling off a leaf and looking at the bundle scars (3 for BT and 1 banana shaped one for Persimmon).

 

[Skelly]

Had to google that.

I tried removing leaves from sucker. I wasn’t able to determine bundle scars on them.

I will check on it tomorrow on a more mature branch.

Pretty awesome that you know that. Great tip.

 

[Native Hunter]

Had to google that.

I tried removing leaves from sucker. I wasn’t able to determine bundle scars on them.

I will check on it tomorrow on a more mature branch.

Pretty awesome that you know that. Great tip.

The scars are harder for me to see when the leaves are green. I can see them better in the fall.

Blackgum is very colorful in the fall too. Look up some pictures on the internet and you will see what I'm talking about. And yes, deer do love to browse them.

 

[Skelly]

The scars are harder for me to see when the leaves are green. I can see them better in the fall.

Blackgum is very colorful in the fall too. Look up some pictures on the internet and you will see what I'm talking about. And yes, deer do love to browse them.

Yep, I’ve already googled it.

I hadn’t seen any berry’s Or fruit on them but i’ll Keep an eye out.

 

[Native Hunter]

Yep, I’ve already googled it.

I hadn’t seen any berry’s Or fruit on them but i’ll Keep an eye out.

That's why I said it was a male - because you stated that you hadn't seen any mast. They are either male or female. However, as with persimmons there can be trees that have both male and female flowers. This is not common but possible.

 

[chickenlittle]

From the photos, I can't say whether it is gum or persimmon. Gum has a distinctive branching structure different from persimmon. Black gum gets a small fruit/berry that is high in fat. Great for birds but the trees are not high value to me otherwise. Red fall foliage is nice at NH mentioned. We have way too many in the understory of our oak forest so my preference would be get rid of most including the mature seed producing ones. The wood is hard to split for firewood - fibrous. The trees are not typically valued for timber but has some uses and can be somewhat attractive. If I had a use for the wood, I'd consider having my brother run the largest trees we have through his bandsaw mill.
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-298-w.pdf

 

[MickT]

Blackgum. Deer love to browse it in TN- probably the top tree spp in browse preference.


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[Bowsnbucks]

We have some black gum trees at camp too. Great fall color ( orange-ish red to red ) and they get dark blue, blackish berries that birds love. Wood is about impossible to split, even with a hydraulic unit. When we cut a big one down, we use the heavy wood for a base to build brush piles on. The majority of ours are understory trees, as Chickenlittle said above.