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Oxydendrum arboreum
Sourwood
Florida native
An occasional medium-sized tree of hammocks, bluff forests and bayheads in Madison County and west through the northern portion of the panhandle. The range extends throughout the southeast, west into Arkansas and Louisiana, north into Illinois to New York, plus Rhode Island.
Sourwood trees grow to 18m (60 ft.) in height with white urn-shaped flowers in narrow racemes at the tips of the branches. Blooming from May into July, the corollas have appressed hairs, which help differentiate this genus from the other members of the heath family. The simple, elliptic leaves are alternate with finely serrate margins. The upper surface is medium-dark green with a paler underside. The leaves turn orange or scarlet-red in the fall.
Oxydendrum arboreum is a member of the Ericaceae - Heath family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 15, 2016
