Habitat

• native to southeastern and south central United States
• zone 5 and warmer parts of 4
• most northern population is in southern New Jersey

Habit and Form

• a deciduous small tree or large shrub
• 12' to 20' tall
• spread equals height
• shape ranges from irregular and open to dense and rounded
• habit is quite variable
• multi-stemmed in most cases
• somewhat slow growing

Summer Foliage

• opposite arrangement
• simple, elliptic or elongated leaves
• acute base and tip
• leaves are 3" to 8" long
• leaves are 1.5" to 3" wide
• color is dark green
• one of the last deciduous plants to leaf out in the spring

Autumn Foliage

• a mix of yellow, green and brown
• can be a good yellow or golden color

Flowers

• dioecious, with male and female plants
• male flowers are showier than female flowers
• white
• fringe-like flowers
• flowers are in loose clusters
• clusters are 4" to 8" long
• very showy in bloom
• bloom time is late May to early June
• slightly fragrant

Fruit

• on female plants only
• blue-black "olive-like" fruits
• 0.5" to 0.8" long
• held in clusters
• enjoyed by birds
• somewhat hidden by foliage
• ripens in late August through September
• male plant needed in vicinity for fruit to set

Bark

• smooth on young branches
• slightly ridged and rough on mature trunks
• gray color

Culture

• full sun to partial shade
• prefers moist, deep, acidic soils that are well-drained
• fairly adaptable
• possibly difficult to transplant
• requires little maintenance once established

Landscape Use

• specimen
• naturalistic plantings
• shrub border
• for flowering
• fruits to attract birds
• in groupings
• urban sites due to pollution tolerance

Liabilities

• propagation is difficult so plant is expensive or hard to locate in commerce
• most plants are seed propagated so the plant sex is generally unknown for purchased plant
• slow growing

ID Features

• stem is square
• late to leaf out in Spring
• white fringe-like flowers
• females with purple-black "olive-like" fruit
• multi-stemmed large shrub or small tree

Propagation

• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

• None