plant-banner1

NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Symplocos tinctoria

Horsesugar, Common Sweetleaf

Scientific Name:

Symplocos tinctoria

Genus:

Symplocos

Species Epithet:

tinctoria

Common Name:

Horsesugar, Common Sweetleaf

Plant Type

Tree/Shrub

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Symplocaceae (Sweetleaf Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Size:

0-1 ft., 1-3 ft., 3-6 ft., 6-12 ft., 12-36 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

White, Yellow

Light:

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Moist

Bloom Time:

Feb, March, April, May

Growing Area:

Mountains, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain

Habitat Description:

Moist bottomland forests, pocosin edges, mesic forests, ridgetop forests, sandhills. Common in NC Mountains and Coastal Plain, rare in Piedmont.

Leaf Arrangement:

Alternate

Leaf Retention:

Semi-evergreen

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Simple

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Important for Wildlife

Landscape Value:

Suitable for home landscapes

State Rank:

S5: Secure (*Key)

Global Rank:

G5 - Secure (*Key)

Notes:

butterflies, host plant for King's Hairstreak Butterfly, birds and small mammals eat fruits. Showy cream to yellow flowers before leaves appear,
Leaves reported to taste sweet and somewhat like green apples. Deer resistant!

Plant with Blooms

image

Tom Harville
May 09

Blooms

image

Tom Harville

Leaves are alternate, thick and have entire margins. Leaf shape is obovate to oblanceolate.

Eastwood Preserve, Moore Co., NC

The Scientific Name is Symplocos tinctoria. You will likely hear them called Horsesugar, Common Sweetleaf. This picture shows the Leaves are alternate, thick and have entire margins. Leaf shape is obovate to oblanceolate. of Symplocos tinctoria

Bettina Darveaux

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record

Flora of North America
NC State Extension
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
 



Permalink - (right click to save this page to your bookmarks)

<<< PREVIOUS

NEXT >>>

back to top
go to plant details search
go to plant images search
go to gallery home
back to Initial s Gallery
back to orchids
back to Carnivorous Plants
back to Trilliums