SCIENTIFIC NAME: Symplocus tinctoria

COMMON NAME: sweetleaf, horse sugar

FLOWERS: Fragrant yellow flowers before the leaves in the early spring. Up to 1/2" in diameter.

LEAVES: Alternate and taper to both ends. Petiole is yellow and there are black blotches on leaves caused by algae. Taste like an apple. Often looks wilted. Up to 6" long and can be semi-evergreen. Margins are entire and revolute. Thick.

GROWTH HABIT: Large shrub or small tree that grows 10' to 20' tall and wide.

OTHER: Hardy to zone 4. Native to low, moist sites. Use as an indicator tree if found in the wild. Much of the time the leaves look wilted. Birds love the fruit. Is not in the trade. A member of the Symplocaceae family.