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SPECIES:  Oxydendrum arboreum

Introductory
SPECIES: Oxydendrum arboreum

AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Oxydendrum arboreum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: 
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/oxyarb/all.html [].


ABBREVIATION : 
OXYARB

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   OXAR


COMMON NAMES : 
   sourwood 
   sorrel-tree
   lily-of-the-valley-tree


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for sourwood is Oxydendrum
arboreum (L.) DC. [21].  Oxydendrum is a monotypic genus [15].  There
are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms.


LIFE FORM : 
Tree

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Oxydendrum arboreum



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Sourwood grows in upland forests of the southeastern United States.  It
is found from southern Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, to southeastern
Louisiana and the panhandle of Florida.  It also grows in the
mountainous regions of Kentucky and Tennessee and along the Atlantic
Coast from North Carolina to Virginia.  The main range of sourwood lies
between 30 and 40 degrees N. and 75 and 92 degrees W.  Sourwood reaches
its largest size on the western slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains in
Tennessee [9,30,32].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory


STATES : 
     AL  FL  GA  KY  LA  MD  MS  NC  OH  PA
     SC  TN  VA  WV



BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    40  Post oak - blackjack oak
    44  Chestnut oak
    52  White oak - black oak - northern red oak
    53  White oak
    75  Shortleaf pine
    76  Shortleaf pine - oak
    78  Virginia pine - oak
    79  Virginia pine
    81  Loblolly pine
    82  Loblolly pine - hardwood


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Oxydendrum arboreum



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Sourwood is of little value as a commercial timber species.  The wood
is used to make tool handles and for fuel.  Sourwood is used with a
mixture of other species for pulp [30,41].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
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].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
Sourwood snags provide cavity-nesting sites for various birds in
southern Appalachian forests [24].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Sourwood is occasionally used as an ornamental because of the brilliant
fall color of its leaves and midsummer flowers.  The flowers of sourwood
are also an important source of honey [30,32].


OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Sourwood sprouts often compete with the establishment of more desirable
species in second-growth and cutover areas [25,39].  Methods and
effectiveness of herbicide treatment for controlling sourwood and other
undesirable hardwoods have been given in detail [27,28,29,36].

Damaging Agents:  Several insects attack sourwood.  The dogwood-twig
borer (Oberea tripunctata) and the twig girdler (Oncideres cingulata)
attack the twigs.  The fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) and the hickory
horn devil (the larvae of the regal moth [Citheronia regalis]) consume
the foliage.  There are no known serious diseases that affect sourwood
[32].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Oxydendrum arboreum



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Sourwood is a native, deciduous, medium-sized tree, 40 to 60 feet (12-15
m) tall [13,30].  It develops a slender trunk and small crown in dense
stands.  In the open it forms a short, often leaning trunk dividing into
several stout, ascending limbs [32].  The inflorescence is a raceme
emanating from a central axis.  The simple, alternate leaves are 4 to 7
inches (10-18 cm) long and variable in shape.  The fruit is a capsule
0.25 to 0.5 inch (6-13 mm) long containing many tiny seeds [9,23,42].
No information on the rooting habit of sourwood was found in the
literature.


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
  
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Seed production and dissemination:  Estimated seed production ranging
from 1,850,000 to 5,500,000 seeds per pound (4,080,000-12,250,000
seeds/kg) has been reported [32,42].  The fruits are shed in the fall
and the seeds are dispersed gradually throughout the winter by the
dehiscing capsule.  Sourwood seeds germinate well without special
treatment [32,33].

Seedling development:  Germination is epigeal.  Seedbed requirements for
sourwood have not been reported.  In the Piedmont, sourwood seed
germination and establishment may occur on litter and under partially
shaded conditions.  Techniques for sourwood seed collection, storage,
and germination have been described [32].

Vegetative reproduction:  Sourwood sprouts prolifically and persistently
from the stump and root crown [11,17].  It is difficult to propagate
from cuttings; no reports were found of propagation from grafting [32].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
In the central Appalachian Mountains sourwood is most abundant on
subxeric open slopes and ridges occupied by chestnut oak (Quercus
prinus), white oak (Q. alba), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), and Virginia
pine (Pinus virginiana).  It is less frequent on more mesic sites such
as coves and sheltered slopes.  Throughout this area sourwood is found
up to 5,000 feet (1,520 m) but rarely to 5,600 feet (1,710 m) in
elevation [3,6,32].

Sourwood grows throughout the Piedmont uplands.  It is also found along
Piedmont streams on well-drained lowland areas not subject to flooding.
In the Coastal Plain it is found on gently rolling areas.  Toward the
coast it is restricted to old dunes and well-drained slopes and ridges
above streams and swamp borders.  Sourwood is commonly found growing on
soils in the orders Ultisols, Inceptisols, and Entisols [5,26,32].

Other associates of sourwood in addition to the cover type species are
sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), yellow-poplar (Liriodendron
tulipifera), southern red oak (Q. falcata), red and sugar maple (Acer
rubrum and A. saccharum), shagbark, bitternut, pignut, and mockernut
hickory (Carya ovata, C. cordiformis, C. glabra, and C. tomentosa),
white ash (Fraxinus americanus), American beech (Fagus grandifolia),
eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida),
sassafras (Sassafras albidum), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana),
eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), and redbud (Cercis canadensis)
[2,18,32].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative seral species.

Sourwood is shade tolerant.  In the Piedmont sourwood seedlings and
saplings are found in all stages of successsion from young pine (Pinus
spp.) stands to oak-hickory (Quercus spp.- Carya spp.)  forests.
Sourwood's response to release is not known [7,32,35].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Sourwood blooms from late June to August; the fruit ripens from
September through October [30,41].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Oxydendrum arboreum



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Sourwood has the ability to sprout from the root crown or stump
following fire [4,11,16].

FIRE REGIMES : 
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this 
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/root sucker

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Oxydendrum arboreum



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Low-severity fire typically top-kills sourwood [1,20].  Oosting [31]
reports that a single high-severity ground fire completely eliminated
sourwood from a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) community in North Carolina.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Sourwood is usually an increaser following low-severity fire [32].
Following an early summer prescribed fire on the Sumter National Forest
in South Carolina, sourwood stem density increased from 33 stems per acre
(82 stem/ha) to 420 stems per acre (1,040 stems/ha) [38].

FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
If used as a management tool, Trousdell [39] recommends one winter fire
followed by three summer fires as the treatment most effective in
controlling sourwood.

References for species: Oxydendrum arboreum

1. Allen, Peter H. 1960. Scorch and mortality after a summer burn in loblolly pine. Res. Note No. 144. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 2 p. [12256]

2. Artigas, Francisco J.; Boerner, Ralph E. J. 1989. Advance regeneration and seed banking of woody plants in Ohio pine plantations: implications for landscape change. Landscape Ecology. 2(3): 139-150. [13633]

3. Barden, Lawrence S.; Woods, Frank W. 1974. Characteristics of lightning fires in southern Appalachian forests. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1973 March 22-23; Tallahassee, FL. No. 13. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 345-361. [19012]

4. Beck, Donald E. 1988. Clearcutting and other regeneration options for upland hardwoods. In: Proceedings, 16th annual hardwood symposium of the Hardwood Research Council; 1988 May 15-18; Chashiers, NC. Vol. 16. [Place of publication unknown]. Hardwood Research Council: 44-54. [10903]

5. Braun, E. Lucy. 1942. Forests of the Cumberland Mountains. Ecological Monographs. 12(4): 413-447. [9258]

6. Cain, Stanley A. 1932. Concerning certain phytosociological concepts. Ecological Monographs. II(4): 476-508. [18116]

7. Day, Frank P., Jr.; Monk, Carl D. 1974. Vegetation patterns on a southern Appalachian watershed. Ecology. 55(5): 1064-1074. [17560]

8. Della-Bianca, Lino; Johnson, Frank M. 1965. Effect of an intensive cleaning on deer-browse production in the southern Appalachians. Journal of Wildlife Management. 29(4): 729-733. [16404]

9. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1988. Trees of the southeastern United States. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 322 p. [12764]

10. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

11. Freeman, Phillip C.; Van Lear, D. H. 1977. Performance of eastern white pine and competing vegetation following two methods of stand conversion. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 1(3): 7-9. [10638]

12. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

13. Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 734 p. [10239]

14. Goodrum, Phil D.; Reid, Vincent H. 1958. Deer browsing in the longleaf pine belt. In: Proceedings, 58th annual meeting of the Society of American Foresters; [Date of meeting unknown]; [Place of meeeting unknown]. Washington, DC: [Society of American Foresters]: 139-143. [17023]

15. Harlow, William M.; Harrar, Ellwood S., White, F. M. 1979. Textbook of dendrology. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 510 p. [18070]

16. Harmon, Mark E. 1984. Survival of trees after low-intensity surface fires in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ecology. 65(3): 796-802. [10997]

17. Horsley, Stephen B. 1988. How vegetation can influence regeneration. In: Smith, H. Clay; Perkey, Arlyn W.; Kidd, William E., Jr, eds. Guidelines for regenerating Appalachian hardwood stands: Workshop proceedings; 1988 May 24-26; Morgantown, WV. Society of American Foresters Publ. 88-03. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Books: 38-54. [13544]

18. Horsley, Stephen B. 1988. How vegetation can influence regeneration. In: Smith, H. Clay; Perkey, Arlyn W.; Kidd, William E., Jr, eds. Guidelines for regenerating Appalachian hardwood stands: Workshop proceedings; 1988 May 24-26; Morgantown, WV. Society of American Foresters Publ. 88-03. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Books: 38-54. [13544]

19. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

20. Langdon, O. Gordon. 1981. Some effects of prescribed fire on understory vegetation in loblolly pine stands. In: Wood, Gene W., ed. Prescribed fire and wildlife in southern forests: Proceedings of a symposium; 1981 April 6-8; Myrtle Beach, SC. Georgetown, SC: Clemson University, Belle W. Baruch Forest Science Institute: 143-153. [14821]

21. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]

22. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]

23. McComb, William C.; Muller, Robert N. 1983. Snag densities in old-growth and second-growth Appalachian forests. Journal of Wildlife Management. 47(2): 376-382. [13736]

24. Turner, Raymond M. 1990. Long-term vegetation change at a fully protected Sonoran Desert site. Ecology. 7(2): 464-477. [10866]

25. McMinn, James W. 1989. Influence of whole-tree harvesting on stand composition and structure in the oak-pine type. In: Waldrop, Thomas A., ed. Proceedings of pine-hardwood mixtures: a symposium on management and ecology of the type; 1989 April 18-19; Atlanta, GA. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-58. Asheville, SC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 96-99. [10263]

26. Michael, J. L. 1985. Hardwood control by injection with two new chemicals. Proceedings of the Southern Weed Science Society. 38: 164-167. [12687]

27. Miller, James H. 1990. Streamline basal application of herbicide for small-stem hardwood control. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 14(4): 161-165. [13538]

28. Neary, D. G.; Douglass, J. E.; Ruehle, J. L.; Fox, W. 1984. Converting rhododendron-laurel thickets to white pine with picloram and mycorrhizae-inoculated seedlings. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 8(3): 163-168. [10697]

29. Olson, David F., Jr.; Barnes, R. L. 1974. Oxydendrum arboreum (L.) DC. Sourwood. In: Schopmeyer, C. S., ed. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agriculture Handbook No. 450. Washington: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 566-567. [7719]

30. Oosting, Henry J. 1944. The comparative effect of surface and crown fire on the composition of a loblolly pine community. Ecology. 25(1): 61-69. [9919]

31. Smith, H. Clay; Rosier, Robert L.; Hammack, K. P.. 1976. Reproduction 12 years after seed-tree harvest cutting in Appalachian hardwoods. Res. Pap. NE-350. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 11 p. [10887]

32. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

33. Sander, Ivan L. 1988. Guidelines for regenerating Appalachian oak stands. In: Smith, H. Clay; Perkey, Arlyn W.; Kidd, William E., Jr., eds. Guidelines for regenerating Appalachian hardwood stands: Workshop proceedings; 1988 May 24-26; Morgantown, WV. SAF Publ. 88-03. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Books: 189-198. [13945]

34. Sluder, Earl R. 1958. Control of cull trees and weed species in hardwood stands. Station Paper 95. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 13 p. [16503]

35. Smith, H. Clay; Rosier, Robert L.; Hammack, K. P.. 1976. Reproduction 12 years after seed-tree harvest cutting in Appalachian hardwoods. Res. Pap. NE-350. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 11 p. [10887]

36. Teuke, Michael J.; Van Lear, David H. 1982. Prescribed burning and oak advance regeneration in the southern Appalachians. Georgia Forest Research Paper 30. Macon, GA: Georgia Forestry Commission. 11 . [16034]

37. Trousdell, Kenneth B. 1970. Disking and prescribed burning: sixth-year residual effects on loblolly pine and competing vegetation. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 6 p. [10190]

38. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]

39. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]

40. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p. [7707]