Black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) in numbers: hardness, weight, strength, shrinkage, movement and decay resistance, taken from the tables of the USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook, followed by what the wood is like to work and what it is used for. The values are averages from small, clear, straight-grained test specimens; real boards with knots, sloping grain or a different moisture content will differ.
| Property | Black tupelo |
|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% moisture | 810 lbf (3,603 N) |
| Janka side hardness, green | 640 lbf |
| Hardness rank | harder than 70 of the 168 woods with a 12% hardness value in our database |
| Density at 12% moisture | 35.0 lb/ft³ (560 kg/m³) |
| Weight per board foot (12%) | 2.91 lb |
| Specific gravity (ovendry weight, green volume) | 0.46 |
| Specific gravity at 12% moisture | 0.50 |
| Bending strength (modulus of rupture), 12% | 9,600 psi |
| Stiffness (modulus of elasticity), 12% | 1.2 million psi |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain), 12% | 5,520 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial / tangential / volumetric | 5.1% / 8.7% / 14.4% |
| Tangential / radial shrinkage ratio | 1.71 |
| Dimensional change per 1% moisture (radial / tangential) | 0.00176 / 0.00308 |
| Impact bending (drop height to failure), 12% | 22 in. |
| Heartwood decay resistance | not rated |
The species in this group
Lumber is often sold under a group name. These are the species the Wood Handbook reports for this group, with the same properties side by side.
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Crushing (psi) | Shrink T/R (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black tupelo Nyssa sylvatica | 810 | 35.0 | 9,600 | 1.2 | 5,520 | 8.7 / 5.1 | not rated |
| Water tupelo Nyssa aquatica | 880 | 35.0 | 9,600 | 1.26 | 5,920 | 7.6 / 4.2 | not rated |
What it is
The tupelo group is water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), black tupelo (N. sylvatica), swamp tupelo (N. sylvatica var. biflora) and Ogeechee tupelo (N. ogeche). Water tupelo is also called tupelo gum, swamp tupelo and sourgum; black tupelo is blackgum or sourgum; swamp tupelo is swamp blackgum; and Ogeechee tupelo is sour tupelo, gopher plum or Ogeechee plum. Black tupelo grows across the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and Missouri; the others grow principally in the Southeast. About two-thirds of tupelo lumber comes from the Southern States.
The different tupelos are quite similar in appearance and properties. The heartwood is light brownish gray and merges gradually into the lighter sapwood, which is generally wide. The wood has a fine, uniform texture and interlocked grain.
Working properties
Tupelo is moderately heavy, moderately strong, moderately hard and stiff, and moderately high in shock resistance. Because of its interlocked grain, tupelo lumber requires care in drying; black tupelo shrinks 8.7% tangentially from green to ovendry. Wood from the buttresses (flared bases) of trees growing in swamps or flooded areas is much lighter in weight than wood from higher up the same trees.
Weight and density
At 12% moisture content black tupelo weighs about 35.0 lb per cubic foot, so one board foot (144 cubic inches) weighs about 2.91 lb. An 8 ft board of actual size 3/4 × 5-1/2 in. (a 1×6) holds 0.229 cubic feet and weighs about 8.0 lb; an 8 ft piece 1-1/2 × 3-1/2 in. (a 2×4 size) weighs about 10.2 lb. Green wood is much heavier because of the water it holds.
Density here is ovendry weight plus 12% water, divided by volume at 12% moisture content (Wood Handbook Eq. 4-12: density = specific gravity at 12% × 62.43 lb/ft³ × 1.12).
Wood movement
The Wood Handbook gives dimensional change coefficients for each species: the fraction of its width a board gains or loses for every 1% change in moisture content, between about 6% and 14%. For black tupelo they are 0.00308 across a flatsawn face (tangential) and 0.00176 across a quartersawn face (radial).
Worked example: a flatsawn board 7-1/4 in. wide (a nominal 1×8) that goes from 6% moisture content in a heated winter house to 12% in a humid summer changes width by 7.25 × 0.00308 × 6 = 0.134 in. (about 1/8 in.). The same board quartersawn moves 0.077 in. (about 1/16 in.). Allow for this in panels, tabletops and floors; the wood movement calculator works it out for any size and moisture range.
How it compares
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Tangential shrink (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black tupelo | 810 | 35.0 | 9,600 | 1.2 | 8.7 | not rated |
| Sweetgum | 850 | 36.4 | 12,500 | 1.64 | 10.2 | slightly or nonresistant |
| American sycamore | 770 | 34.3 | 10,000 | 1.42 | 8.4 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Red maple | 950 | 37.8 | 13,400 | 1.64 | 8.2 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Yellow-poplar | 540 | 29.4 | 10,100 | 1.58 | 8.2 | slightly or nonresistant |
| American elm | 830 | 35.0 | 11,800 | 1.34 | 9.5 | slightly or nonresistant |
Uses
Lumber, veneer, pulpwood, and some railroad crossties and slack cooperage. The lumber goes into boxes, pallets, crates, baskets and furniture.
Frequently asked questions
How hard is tupelo?
Black tupelo averages 810 lbf (3,603 N) on the Janka test at 12% moisture content and 640 lbf green; water tupelo averages 880 lbf.
Is blackgum the same as black tupelo?
Yes. Blackgum and sourgum are other names for black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). Water tupelo is also called tupelo gum.
Is tupelo hard to dry?
It needs care. The Handbook says that because of its interlocked grain, tupelo lumber requires care in drying. In service a flatsawn black tupelo board changes width by about 0.308% for each 1% change in moisture content.
Why is some tupelo so light?
Trees growing in swamps or flooded areas form buttresses, and the Handbook notes that buttress wood is much lighter in weight than wood from the upper part of the same tree.
Sources
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-190, 2010. Chapter 2 (species descriptions), Chapter 4 (Tables 4-3, 4-4 shrinkage; Eq. 4-7, 4-9, 4-12 density), Chapter 5 (Tables 5-3b, 5-5b strength and hardness), Chapter 13 (Table 13-5 dimensional change coefficients), Chapter 14 (Table 14-1 decay resistance)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook, 2021 edition (FPL-GTR-282)
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026. Numbers are generated from our parsed copy of the Handbook tables, so every page uses the same data. Values marked * are estimates computed with the Handbook’s own equations. Spotted an error? Please let us know.