Index / Search / Oxydendrum arboreum
§1 Plant
Oxydendrum arboreum (L.) DC.
vernacular sourwood — species · Ericaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Ericaceae Juss.
- Genus
- Oxydendrum
§2a
Native status, by region
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 456 counties across 12 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Medium
- Shade
- Low
- Moisture use
- Low
- Fire
- Low
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- None
- CaCO₃
- None
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -13 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 150 min.
- Precipitation
- 30–40 in/yr
- pH range
- 4–6.5
- Root depth
- 30 in min.
- Fertility need
- Low
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 35 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 20 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- White
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Early Summer
- Seed abundance
- Medium
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 3,675,000
- Propagation
- seed, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- Yes
- Browse palatability
- Medium
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 456 counties across 12 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 59 N ▾
- Autauga 01001
- Baldwin 01003
- Barbour 01005
- Bibb 01007
- Blount 01009
- Butler 01013
- Calhoun 01015
- Chambers 01017
- Cherokee 01019
- Chilton 01021
- Choctaw 01023
- Clarke 01025
- Clay 01027
- Cleburne 01029
- Coffee 01031
- Colbert 01033
- Conecuh 01035
- Coosa 01037
- Crenshaw 01041
- Cullman 01043
- Dallas 01047
- DeKalb 01049
- Elmore 01051
- Escambia 01053
- Fayette 01057
- Franklin 01059
- Geneva 01061
- Greene 01063
- Hale 01065
- Houston 01069
- Jackson 01071
- Jefferson 01073
- Lamar 01075
- Lauderdale 01077
- Lawrence 01079
- Lee 01081
- Limestone 01083
- Lowndes 01085
- Macon 01087
- Madison 01089
- Marengo 01091
- Marshall 01095
- Mobile 01097
- Monroe 01099
- Morgan 01103
- Perry 01105
- Pickens 01107
- Pike 01109
- Randolph 01111
- Russell 01113
- Shelby 01117
- St. Clair 01115
- Talladega 01121
- Tallapoosa 01123
- Tuscaloosa 01125
- Walker 01127
- Washington 01129
- Wilcox 01131
- Winston 01133
Florida view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 43 N ▾
- Bartow 13015
- Bibb 13021
- Carroll 13045
- Cherokee 13057
- Clarke 13059
- Cobb 13067
- Dade 13083
- DeKalb 13089
- Douglas 13097
- Early 13099
- Effingham 13103
- Elbert 13105
- Floyd 13115
- Forsyth 13117
- Fulton 13121
- Gilmer 13123
- Glascock 13125
- Grady 13131
- Habersham 13137
- Hall 13139
- Harris 13145
- Houston 13153
- Jackson 13157
- Jefferson 13163
- Lee 13177
- Lincoln 13181
- Madison 13195
- Meriwether 13199
- Morgan 13211
- Murray 13213
- Oconee 13219
- Oglethorpe 13221
- Pickens 13227
- Pike 13231
- Rabun 13241
- Randolph 13243
- Richmond 13245
- Spalding 13255
- Stephens 13257
- Sumter 13261
- Talbot 13263
- Thomas 13275
- Walker 13295
Kentucky view state ↗ 72 N ▾
- Adair 21001
- Barren 21009
- Bath 21011
- Bell 21013
- Boyd 21019
- Breathitt 21025
- Breckinridge 21027
- Bullitt 21029
- Caldwell 21033
- Calloway 21035
- Campbell 21037
- Carter 21043
- Casey 21045
- Christian 21047
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Clinton 21053
- Cumberland 21057
- Edmonson 21061
- Elliott 21063
- Estill 21065
- Fleming 21069
- Floyd 21071
- Grayson 21085
- Green 21087
- Greenup 21089
- Hardin 21093
- Harlan 21095
- Harrison 21097
- Hart 21099
- Jefferson 21111
- Johnson 21115
- Knott 21119
- Knox 21121
- Laurel 21125
- Lawrence 21127
- Lee 21129
- Leslie 21131
- Letcher 21133
- Lewis 21135
- Lincoln 21137
- Lyon 21143
- Madison 21151
- Magoffin 21153
- Martin 21159
- McCracken 21145
- McCreary 21147
- Menifee 21165
- Metcalfe 21169
- Monroe 21171
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Muhlenberg 21177
- Nelson 21179
- Ohio 21183
- Oldham 21185
- Owsley 21189
- Perry 21193
- Pike 21195
- Powell 21197
- Pulaski 21199
- Robertson 21201
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Russell 21207
- Taylor 21217
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Warren 21227
- Wayne 21231
- Whitley 21235
- Wolfe 21237
Louisiana view state ↗ 17 N ▾
Maryland view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 42 N ▾
- Adams 28001
- Alcorn 28003
- Amite 28005
- Attala 28007
- Choctaw 28019
- Claiborne 28021
- Clarke 28023
- Copiah 28029
- Covington 28031
- Forrest 28035
- Franklin 28037
- George 28039
- Greene 28041
- Hancock 28045
- Itawamba 28057
- Jackson 28059
- Jasper 28061
- Jefferson 28063
- Jefferson Davis 28065
- Kemper 28069
- Lamar 28073
- Lauderdale 28075
- Lawrence 28077
- Lincoln 28085
- Marion 28091
- Monroe 28095
- Pearl River 28109
- Perry 28111
- Pike 28113
- Prentiss 28117
- Scott 28123
- Smith 28129
- Stone 28131
- Tippah 28139
- Tishomingo 28141
- Union 28145
- Walthall 28147
- Washington 28151
- Wayne 28153
- Wilkinson 28157
- Winston 28159
- Yazoo 28163
New York view state ↗ 2 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 83 N ▾
- Alamance 37001
- Alexander 37003
- Avery 37011
- Beaufort 37013
- Bertie 37015
- Buncombe 37021
- Burke 37023
- Cabarrus 37025
- Caldwell 37027
- Carteret 37031
- Caswell 37033
- Catawba 37035
- Chatham 37037
- Cherokee 37039
- Chowan 37041
- Clay 37043
- Craven 37049
- Cumberland 37051
- Currituck 37053
- Dare 37055
- Davidson 37057
- Duplin 37061
- Durham 37063
- Edgecombe 37065
- Forsyth 37067
- Franklin 37069
- Gaston 37071
- Gates 37073
- Graham 37075
- Granville 37077
- Greene 37079
- Guilford 37081
- Halifax 37083
- Harnett 37085
- Haywood 37087
- Henderson 37089
- Hertford 37091
- Hoke 37093
- Iredell 37097
- Jackson 37099
- Johnston 37101
- Jones 37103
- Lee 37105
- Lenoir 37107
- Lincoln 37109
- Macon 37113
- Madison 37115
- Martin 37117
- McDowell 37111
- Mecklenburg 37119
- Mitchell 37121
- Montgomery 37123
- Moore 37125
- Nash 37127
- Northampton 37131
- Onslow 37133
- Orange 37135
- Pasquotank 37139
- Person 37145
- Pitt 37147
- Polk 37149
- Randolph 37151
- Richmond 37153
- Robeson 37155
- Rockingham 37157
- Rowan 37159
- Sampson 37163
- Scotland 37165
- Stanly 37167
- Stokes 37169
- Surry 37171
- Swain 37173
- Transylvania 37175
- Union 37179
- Vance 37181
- Wake 37183
- Washington 37187
- Watauga 37189
- Wayne 37191
- Wilkes 37193
- Wilson 37195
- Yadkin 37197
- Yancey 37199
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 77 N ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Bedford 51019
- Bland 51021
- Botetourt 51023
- Brunswick 51025
- Buchanan 51027
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Caroline 51033
- Carroll 51035
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Craig 51045
- Cumberland 51049
- Dickenson 51051
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Essex 51057
- Floyd 51063
- Fluvanna 51065
- Franklin 51067
- Giles 51071
- Gloucester 51073
- Grayson 51077
- Greensville 51081
- Halifax 51083
- Hanover 51085
- Henry 51089
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- Lancaster 51103
- Lee 51105
- Lunenburg 51111
- Mathews 51115
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Northumberland 51133
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Patrick 51141
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince George 51149
- Pulaski 51155
- Richmond 51159
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Russell 51167
- Scott 51169
- Smyth 51173
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Suffolk (city) 51800
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Tazewell 51185
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Washington 51191
- Westmoreland 51193
- Wise 51195
- Wythe 51197
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 39 N ▾
- Barbour 54001
- Braxton 54007
- Cabell 54011
- Calhoun 54013
- Clay 54015
- Doddridge 54017
- Fayette 54019
- Gilmer 54021
- Greenbrier 54025
- Harrison 54033
- Kanawha 54039
- Lewis 54041
- Marion 54049
- McDowell 54047
- Mercer 54055
- Mingo 54059
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Nicholas 54067
- Ohio 54069
- Pleasants 54073
- Pocahontas 54075
- Preston 54077
- Putnam 54079
- Raleigh 54081
- Randolph 54083
- Ritchie 54085
- Roane 54087
- Summers 54089
- Taylor 54091
- Tucker 54093
- Tyler 54095
- Upshur 54097
- Wayne 54099
- Webster 54101
- Wetzel 54103
- Wirt 54105
- Wood 54107
- Wyoming 54109
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/OXAR ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/2882708 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T05:45:41Z