Sourwood

Family: Ericaceae

Species: Oxydendrum arboretum

Description: The Sourwood is found on fertile, well-drained soil throughout the eastern United States. Sourwood is sometimes used for tool handles. Favored for production of sourwood honey.

Height and width: 50 – 60 feet high with a trunk 1 to 1 ½ feet in diameter

Leaves: 18 cm, thin, glossy above pale and dull below; red in autumn

Bark: Heavy, hard, close-grained, brown tinged with red

Flowers: Blooms in autumn with its foliage often already turning scarlet

Fruit: Capsules are whitish, 12mm wide on long peduncles and split into five segments