Oxydendrum arboreum, the sourwood or sorrel tree, is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois; it is most common in the lower chain of the Appalachian Mountains. The tree is frequently seen as a component of oak-heath forests. Foliage
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
⚠ sources differ — GIFT: 14.64 m · USDA: 10.67 m · TRY: 12 m
Seed mass0.173 mg
⚠ sources differ — TRY: 0.173 mg · GIFT: 0.16 mg
Seed mass max0.24 mg
Seed mass min0.12 mg
Life cycle & reproduction25
Bloom periodEarly Summer
Coppice potentialYes
Deciduousnessdeciduous
Dispersal typewind
Flower colourwhite
Flower conspicuousYes
Fruit seed period beginSummer
Fruit seed period endFall
Growth rate USDASlow
Life formtree
Life spanperennial
Lifespan categoryModerate
Propagated by bare rootYes
Propagated by bulbNo
Propagated by containerYes
Propagated by cormNo
Propagated by cuttingsNo
Propagated by seedYes
Propagated by sodNo
Propagated by sprigsNo
Propagated by tubersNo
Resprout abilityYes
Seed spread rateSlow
Seedling vigorLow
Vegetative spread rateNone
Habitat & environment23
Active growth periodSpring and Summer
Adapted to coarse textured soilsYes
Adapted to fine textured soilsNo
Adapted to medium textured soilsYes
BloatNone
Climatetemperate
Climberself-supporting
Foliage colorGreen
Foliage porosity summerModerate
Foliage porosity winterPorous
Foliage textureCoarse
Fruit colourbrown
Growth formtree
Growth form USDASingle Stem
Hedge toleranceNone
Known allelopathNo
Leaf retentionNo
Low growing grassNo
Mycorrhiza type0.999847302
Root depth min30 in
Shape and orientationColumnar
Small grainNo
Woodinesswoody
Physiology & chemistry25
Anaerobic toleranceNone
C:N ratioHigh
Caco3 toleranceNone
Cold stratification requiredNo
Drought toleranceMedium
Fertility requirementLow
Fire resistantNo
Fire toleranceLow
Frost free days min150 days
Leaf c458 mg/g
Leaf dry-matter content (LDMC)280 mg/g
Leaf n18.48 mg/g
Leaf p0.951 mg/g
Moisture useLow
Nitrogen fixation levelNone
Photosynthetic pathwayC3
Precipitation max40 in
Precipitation min30 in
Salinity toleranceNone
Shade toleranceLow
Soil pH max6.5 pH
Soil pH min4 pH
Specific leaf area (SLA)21.36 mm²/mg
Temperature min-13 °F
Wood density458 mg/cm³
Uses & economy15
Berry nut seed productNo
Christmas tree productNo
Commercial availabilityRoutinely Available
Fodder productNo
Lumber productNo
Naval store productNo
Nursery stock productYes
Palatable browse animalMedium
Palatable graze animalLow
Palatable humanNo
Post productNo
Pulpwood productNo
Seeds per pound3 675 000 per lb
ToxicityNone
Veneer productNo
Other traits7
Fall conspicuousYes
Fruit seed abundanceMedium
Fruit seed conspicuousNo
Fruit seed persistenceYes
Height at 20yr6.1 m
Planting density max1 200 per acre
Planting density min200 per acre
03Chemical composition1 compounds
Compounds documented for Oxydendrum arboreum across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile1 class
Anthocyanidins1
Documented compounds1 total
Compound
Class
Amount
Source
05DNA & barcoding4 specimens
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Oxydendrum arboreum has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens4
Marker genes3
GenBank sequences7
eDNA detections4
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK2★rbcL2★ITS3
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualOxydendrum arboreum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Chromosomes2n = 24 n = 12
Ploidypolyploid inferred
Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references
2n 241×CCDB · eflora
CCDB · eflora
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin46.3 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type7 563 records
Wild obs. + sensor6 572
Museum / vouchered970
Cultivated / captive21
Origin
Native10
Introduced1
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO17 824 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy87% within 1 km
≤100 m 4 080≤1 km 709≤10 km 282>10 km 455
5 526 georeferenced · 1 046 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor6 572
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy40% within 1 km
≤100 m 82≤1 km 164≤10 km 244>10 km 118
608 georeferenced · 362 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence970
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Coordinate accuracy93% within 1 km
≤1 km 14≤10 km 1
15 georeferenced · 6 without coordinates
Open the mapnot free-living21
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions67 of 96 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
94
Bangkok, TH
91
Jackson, US
55
Chapel Hill, US
42
Madison, US
40
Williamsburg, US
36
Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record
31
Bronx, US
30
Philadelphia, US
25
Wuzhou, CN
24
Tuscaloosa, US
23
Morgantown, US
21
Clemson, US
19
Millersville, US
18
Knoxville, US
18
Norfolk, US
17
Mississippi State, US
17
Asheville, US
17
US
14
Western Carolina Universitylocation not on record
14
University of Tennessee at Chattanoogalocation not on record
13
Bloomington, US
13
Miami, US
13
Tall Timbers Research Stationlocation not on record
12
Saint Louis, US
11
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
11
University of Southern Mississippilocation not on record
10
GAlocation not on record
10
AUAlocation not on record
10
Richmond, US
9
Tempe, US
9
BAYLUlocation not on record
8
Flagstaff, US
7
Valdosta State Universitylocation not on record
6
Tampa, US
6
Little Rock, US
6
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
5
Columbia, US
5
Austin, US
4
Rotorua, NZ
4
Philadelphia, US
4
Dekalb, US
4
Burlington, US
4
St. Paul, US
4
China Agricultural Universitylocation not on record
4
College Park, US
4
Tennessee Technological Universitylocation not on record
4
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
4
University of New Hampshirelocation not on record
4
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preservelocation not on record
3
Appalachian State Universitylocation not on record
3
Beijing, CN
3
Kingston, US
3
Fairfax, US
3
Emporia, US
3
Riverside, US
3
Angwin, US
3
Pittsburg, US
3
New Brunswick, US
3
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record
3
Vancouver, CA
3
Moscow, US
3
New Haven, US
2
Museum of the Rockieslocation not on record
2
Edinburgh, GB
2
EL PASO, US
2
Wlocation not on record
2
James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studieslocation not on record
2
Chicago, US
2
DOI/NPS, Mississippi National River & Recreation Arealocation not on record
2
Denver, US
2
Fredericksburg, US
2
West Virginia Wesleyan Collegelocation not on record
2
Auckland, NZ
2
Durham, US
1
Boise, US
1
University of North Carolina at Pembrokelocation not on record
1
Baltimore, US
1
Oskarshamn, SE
1
Moscow State Universitylocation not on record
1
Staten Island, US
1
Due West, US
1
Washington, US
1
Santa Barbara, US
1
Claremont, US
1
Audubon Society -- Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Sanctuarylocation not on record
1
Toronto, CA
1
Green Bay, US
1
Lord Fairfax Community Collegelocation not on record
1
Brookings, US
1
Fullerton, US
1
Mount Berry, US
1
San Angelo, US
1
Durango, US
1
Logan, US
1
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record
1
96 institutions · 939 of 970 vouchered records shown · 31 without an institution code
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
09Environmental DNA4 detections
Where the DNA of Oxydendrum arboreum was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found4
Studies independent surveys1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 4 detections have coordinates
Open the map0 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation9 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility7 563 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI4 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics4 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗