Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Symplocos tinctoria
FAMILY
Symplocaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Sweetleaf at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symplocos tinctoria
FAMILY
Symplocaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)
Symplocos tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Symplocos tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 151-01-001:
Symplocos tinctoria FAMILY Symplocaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Symplocos tinctoria
COMMON NAME:
Horsesugar, Sweetleaf, Dyebush
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_863
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_syti_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_syti_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm100314_067
March Decatur County GA
Terminal bud present, larger than laterals, somewhat conical, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_317
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Showy tuft-like flower clusters in leaf axils of previous year's branches, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_318
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm0404g_01
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Tardily deciduous, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm120424_455
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm120424_457
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm220419_6943
April Pickens County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm220419_6945
April Pickens County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm220419_6947
April Pickens County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm220421_7105
April Pickens County SC
Nine Times Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220421_7163
April Pickens County SC
Nine Times Forest
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JK Marlow jkm220421_7167
April Pickens County SC
Nine Times Forest
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_tinctoria_0464
April Lexington County SC
Peachtree Rock Heritage Preserve
Each flower has 5 light yellow petals 6-8mm long, many light yellow stamens, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_tinctoria_0470
April Lexington County SC
Peachtree Rock Heritage Preserve
Conspicuous when in flower, flowers opening before new leaves, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_tinctoria_0487
April Lexington County SC
Peachtree Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_tinctoria_0501
April Lexington County SC
Peachtree Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Mark A. Musselman mam_horsesugar040210d
April Dorchester County SC
Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0505k_34
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_10231836652835313
June
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JK Marlow jkm120616_912
June Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Leaves finely hairy beneath, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm120825_958
August Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm120825_961
August Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Mostly evergreen with thick, leathery leaf blades, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
JK Marlow jkm0509l_04
September Transylvania County NC
A subcoriaceous evergreen appearance, but here only semi-evergreen, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Ron Lance rwl_stinctoria
September Oconee County SC
Fruit is an oblong drupe, pelletlike, purplish after maturity, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm0310i_14
October Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
Jean Askew jas_0243
November Greenville County SC
Caesars Head State Park
Leaves dark green, almost blackish above by winter, tending to remain for much of the winter, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_symplocos_tinctoria
November
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_symplocos_tinctoria_2
November
)
JK Marlow s071101_ab
November Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Leaves somewhat sweet, but variable plant to plant/season to season, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_646577750550640
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Symplocos tinctoria
FAMILY
Symplocaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symplocos tinctoria
FAMILY
Symplocaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Symplocos tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Symplocos tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 151-01-001:
Symplocos tinctoria
FAMILY
Symplocaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Symplocos tinctoria
1480
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Moist bottomland forests, pocosin edges, mesic forests, ridgetop pine and oak/pine forests, pine flatwoods, longleaf pine sandhills, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Tardily deciduous (semi-evergreen)
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Creamy yellow
5-merous
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Green/Purplish
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p384
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p058
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p164
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p186
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p252
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p256
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p118
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p324
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p171
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p224
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p143
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p193
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p34
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p263
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p344
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p198
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