Plant of the Week
Water Tupelo
Latin: Nyssa aquatica
Anniversaries come and go, but we seem to assign more significance to the
ones with zeros attached.
So, with the 200th anniversary of Mr. Jefferson’s good deal upon us and the
Lewis and Clark festivities underway, I thought I should do my part by
inspecting Arkansas’ contribution to the festivities - the Louisiana Purchase
State Historic Park. The marker is in the middle of an east Arkansas swamp
crowded with trees, especially the water tupelo.
The water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) is a deciduous tree capable of
reaching heights of 90 feet with trunks that are funnel shaped at the base but
then shoot skyward with little taper or branching. In the park, the trees huddle
close together in the coffee-colored swamp water, reluctantly sharing their
space with scattered bald cypress, red maples and a few oaks.
Water tupelo leaves are 7 inches long, thin, occasionally wavy-margined and
oval with a pointed tip. In the fall, they turn orange or red, but not as
intensely as their upland cousin, the black gum. The flowers are inconspicuous
but inch-long, blue-black berries form every fall and are relished by turkeys
and an array of songbirds that live in the swamp.
The Louisiana Purchase State Park is about 35 miles south of I-40 at the
Brinkley exit on Highway 49. The park commemorates the survey work Congress
commissioned in 1815 and marks the boundaries of present day Lee, Monroe and
Phillips counties. The impetus for the survey was to permit the federal
government to pay veterans of the War of 1812 in land grants from land situated
in the newly acquired territory.
The east-west line corresponds to the national baseline and was surveyed by
Joseph Brown while the north-south line, 26 miles inland from the Mississippi
River, represents the fifth principle meridian and was surveyed by Prospect K.
Robbins and extends the uniform surveying quadrants established in the eastern
states. All official survey records from the mountains of Montana to the mouth
of the Mississippi originate from this marker.
Robbins’ survey crew crossed the east-west line on Nov. 10, 1815. The
surveyors described the area as "low and contained cypress and briers and
thickets in abundance". In 1921, a survey crew following the Lee - Phillips
county line came across "witness" trees marked by the original surveyors and
recognized the significance of their find. The monument marking the spot was
added in 1926.
The park sits amidst the area cotton and soybean fields in the deep, fertile
soils of the Mississippi River flood plane. The marker is accessed by a 950-foot
boardwalk that keeps your feet dry but gives a sense of what early explorers and
travelers must have encountered when they ventured into the swampy lowlands of
the region.
The word "tupelo" is a Creek name transliterated from "ito opilwa,"
literally "tree and swamp." The Latin name Nyssa continues the watery
theme, being based on the name of one of the water nymphs of Greek mythology.
The water tupelo is native to the gulf costal plane and the lower reaches of the
Mississippi river watershed. In central Arkansas, a nice stand can be seen along
the south side of I-40 near Conway in the inundated backwater near where Cadron
Creek joins the Arkansas River.
Like many swamp dwellers, water tupelo is perfectly at home in a dryland
site. In cultivation it makes a medium size tree of about 50 feet with a
decidedly upright habit and limbs arising from the trunk at right angles. While
less frequently grown than the upland black gum, it’s easy to find from nursery
sites on the Internet.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
June 6, 2003
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