Ontario’s Black Gums

Some of North America’s oldest hardwood trees persist in obscurity, and in peril. Nate Torenvliet describes finding a 580-year-old black gum tree in the Niagara region of Ontario. I first became acquainted with black gums on an outing to Grassie, Ontario with a local tree group, and it was a meeting I would not forget. Black gum, a member of the Tupelo family is one of those trees that doesn’t disappoint at any time of the year. Its Latin epithet, Nyssa sylvatica refers … Read more