sour gum

American  

noun

1. a tree, Nyssa sylvatica, of eastern North America, having elliptic leaves, dark-blue, berrylike fruit, and wood with a variety of commercial uses.

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sour gum British  

noun

1. Also called: black gum.   pepperidge.  a cornaceous tree, Nyssa sylvatica, of the eastern US, having glossy leaves, soft wood, and sour purplish fruits See also tupelo Compare sweet gum

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Etymology

Origin of sour gum

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Example Sentences

I came across a single sour gum tree, growing uncharacteristically in a dry grassland, that had turned such a fluorescent magenta that it could never be photographed properly.

From New York Times

THE sour gum, often called black gum, is found in many types of soil and in most conditions of soil moisture in southern Illinois, but it becomes rare in the northern half of the State.

From Project Gutenberg

The hairy woodpecker devours many of the above fruits, as well as those of spicebush, sour gum, cherries, grapes, blackberries.

From Project Gutenberg

Skirting the stream out toward the higher back woods, I chanced to spy a bunch of snow in one of the great sour gums, that I thought was an old nest.

From Project Gutenberg

The enlarged base and the larger fruit serve to distinguish it from the sour gum.

From Project Gutenberg