Oxydendrum arboreum

Sourwood or sorrel tree is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the heath or Ericaceae family. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois.

The sourwood is very hardy in the north and a worthy ornamental tree in lawns and parks. Its late bloom makes it desirable, and its autumnal coloring is particularly beautiful and brilliant.

• Leaves are simple, alternate, deciduous, elliptical to lanciolate, 8–20 cm long and 4–9 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin; they are dark green in summer, but turn vivid red in fall.
• Species is monoecious. Flowers are white, bell-shaped, 6–9 mm long, produced on 15–25 cm long panicles which turn brown in the fall. The long white (flowers) or brown (capsules) in panicles is a defining feature of sourwood, standing out against green leaves and then visible after leaves have fallen, hanging on as tassels until spring.
• Fruit is a small woody capsule, releasing 2 small winged seeds in the winter.