Search for

Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. Blunting Effect Boring Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Cutting Resistance Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Gluing Grain Heartwood Color Kiln Schedules Luster Mortising Moulding Movement in Service Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Painting Planing Product Sources References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Steam Bending Strength Properties Texture Trade Name Tree Size Turning Scientific Name Nyssa sylvatica Trade Name Black tupelo Family Name Cornaceae Common Names Black gum, Black tupelo, Chan thip, Lau tau, Mascalwood, Pepperidge, Resak, Sourgum, Taungsagaing, Tupelo, Tupelo gum Regions of Distribution North America Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] United States Common Uses Baskets, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Cooperages, Core Stock, Crossties, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Factory flooring, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Food containers, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Kitchen cabinets, Living-room suites, Office furniture, Pallets, Plain veneer, Pulp/Paper products, Pulpwood, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Railroad ties, Rustic furniture, Stools, Sub-flooring, Tables , Utility furniture, Veneer, Wardrobes Environmental Profile Widespread Globally secure Data source is Nature Conservancy Abundant May be rare in parts of its range, especially along the periphery Distribution Overview The growth range of Black tupelo in North America includes Ontario, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The tree is often found in hardwood and pine forests and prefers moist soils of valleys and uplands. Heartwood Color Yellow Brown Red Orange Pink Green/grey Grey brown Greenish to greyish Sapwood Color Red Brown Yellow Wide Whitish Grey The wide sapwood is grayish white and merges gradually into the heartwood Grain Figure Closed Irregular Interlocked Moderately to severely interlocked Irregular Closed Tupelo is close-grained. The grain is typically uniformly irregular and highly interlocked, producing a distinct ribbon figure on quarter-sawn surfaces Texture Medium Fine Coarse Uniform Fine Luster Medium High Natural Durability Durable Moderately durable Resistant to termites Susceptible to insect attack Non-resistant to marine borers Non-resistant to termites Resistant to powder post beetles No natural resistance The wood has little or no natural resistance to decay and should be chemically protected prior to exterior use. Heart rot is a common defect in the tree Odor No specific smell or taste Kiln Schedules T6 - H2 (4/4) US Schedule E (4/4) United Kingdom/T6 - H2 (4/4) US Schedule E (4/4) United Kingdom Drying Defects Water pockets Interlocked grain may cause severe warping and distortion Honeycombing possible End-checks Collapse Ease of Drying Stack timber carefully to minimize degrade Dries at a moderate rate with little degrade. Stack should be restricted with heavy loads during kiln drying to prevent distortion. Tree Size Tree height is 30-40 m Bole length is 20-30 m Bole length is 10-20 m Sapwood width is 5-10 cm Sapwood width is 0-5 cm Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm Makes a handsome ornamental and shade tree Product Sources Supplies of Black tupelo plentiful, and the material is readily available, especially in the Eastern United States, at inexpensive prices. Blunting Effect Medium effect Boring Easy The wood bores easily. (Percent of pieces yielding good to excellent pieces in boring = 82) Cutting Resistance Easy to saw Medium cutting resistance Gluing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Good gluing properties Mortising Very poor mortising properties Mortising properties are very poor. (Number of fair to excellent pieces out of one hundred = 24) Moulding Responds poorly to mortising The timber responds poorly to moulding. (Perecnt of pieces producing good to excellent results in moulding = 32) Movement in Service Excellent Stability - Small Movement Moderate stability when properly seasoned Nailing Pre-boring recommended Difficult to nail Number of nailed pieces free from complete splits = 64 Planing Special attention required Interlocked grain makes wood fairly difficult to plane Planing requires care because of highly interlocked grain. (Percent of planed pieces yielding perfect results = 48) Resistance to Impregnation Resistant heartwood Resistant sapwood Heartwood is permeable Response to Hand Tools Easy to Work Fairly Difficult to Difficult to Work Somewhat difficult to work with hand tools Sanding Very poor response to sanding Number of pieces out of one hundred yielding good to excellent sanding results = 21 Screwing Possible if prebored Number of screwed pieces free from complete splits = 63 Turning Somewhat difficult to turn Number of fair to excellent pieces out of one hundred = 79 Steam Bending Very poor Percent of unbroken pieces = 42 Painting Very Good to Excellent Results Fair to Good Results Strength Properties Resists denting and marring Hardness = medium Compression strength (parallel to grain) = medium Bending strength (MOR) = medium Weight is about average. Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 6860 9408 psi Crushing Strength 470 911 psi Hardness 794 lbs Impact Strength 29 22 inches Maximum Crushing Strength 2979 5410 psi Shearing Strength 1313 psi Stiffness 1009 1176 1000 psi Work to Maximum Load 6 8 inch-lbs/in3 Specific Gravity 0.42 0.46 Weight 42 33 lbs/ft3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 9 % Volumetric Shrinkage 14 % Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 482 661 kg/cm2 Crushing Strength 33 64 kg/cm2 Hardness 360 kg Impact Strength 73 55 cm Maximum Crushing Strength 209 380 kg/cm2 Shearing Strength 92 kg/cm2 Stiffness 70 82 1000 kg/cm2 Work to Maximum Load 0.42 0.56 cm-kg/cm3 Specific Gravity 0.42 0.46 Weight 673 528 kg/m3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 9 % References Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois and E.M. Wengert. 1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods: Temperate and Tropical. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Madison, Wisconsin. Kline, M. 1985. Nyssa sylvatica - Blackgum. In A Guide to Useful Woods of the World. Flynn Jr., J.H., Editor. King Philip Publishing Co., Portland, Maine. 1994. Page 245. Little, E.L. 1980. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees - Eastern Region. Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York. Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw. 1980. Textbook of Wood Technology, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Series in Forest Resources. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook - Wood as an Engineering Material, Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 72, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. USDA. 1988. Dry Kiln Operators Manual, Preliminary Copy. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.