Index / Search / Symplocos tinctoria
§1 Plant
Symplocos tinctoria (L.) L'Hér.
vernacular common sweetleaf — species · Symplocaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Symplocaceae Desf.
- Genus
- Symplocos
§2a
Native status, by region
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 365 counties across 14 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- None
- Shade
- Low
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -22 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 178 min.
- Precipitation
- 40–100 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.5–6.5
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Rhizomatous
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 20 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 40 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Yellow-Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Porous
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Late Spring
- Seed begins
- Fall
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Stratify
- No
§3e
Use & availability
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 365 counties across 14 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 44 N ▾
- Baldwin 01003
- Barbour 01005
- Bibb 01007
- Blount 01009
- Butler 01013
- Chilton 01021
- Choctaw 01023
- Clarke 01025
- Clay 01027
- Cleburne 01029
- Coffee 01031
- Conecuh 01035
- Coosa 01037
- Covington 01039
- Cullman 01043
- Dale 01045
- DeKalb 01049
- Escambia 01053
- Etowah 01055
- Fayette 01057
- Geneva 01061
- Hale 01065
- Henry 01067
- Jackson 01071
- Jefferson 01073
- Lamar 01075
- Lee 01081
- Lowndes 01085
- Marengo 01091
- Marion 01093
- Mobile 01097
- Montgomery 01101
- Morgan 01103
- Perry 01105
- Pickens 01107
- Pike 01109
- Russell 01113
- Sumter 01119
- Tallapoosa 01123
- Tuscaloosa 01125
- Walker 01127
- Washington 01129
- Wilcox 01131
- Winston 01133
Arkansas view state ↗ 27 N ▾
- Ashley 05003
- Bradley 05011
- Calhoun 05013
- Clark 05019
- Cleburne 05023
- Cleveland 05025
- Columbia 05027
- Dallas 05039
- Drew 05043
- Grant 05053
- Hempstead 05057
- Hot Spring 05059
- Howard 05061
- Independence 05063
- Jackson 05067
- Jefferson 05069
- Lafayette 05073
- Miller 05091
- Nevada 05099
- Ouachita 05103
- Pike 05109
- Polk 05113
- Pulaski 05119
- Saline 05125
- Sevier 05133
- Union 05139
- White 05145
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 31 N ▾
- Alachua 12001
- Baker 12003
- Bay 12005
- Calhoun 12013
- Clay 12019
- Columbia 12023
- Dixie 12029
- Duval 12031
- Escambia 12033
- Franklin 12037
- Gadsden 12039
- Gilchrist 12041
- Gulf 12045
- Hamilton 12047
- Hillsborough 12057
- Holmes 12059
- Jackson 12063
- Jefferson 12065
- Lafayette 12067
- Leon 12073
- Levy 12075
- Liberty 12077
- Madison 12079
- Nassau 12089
- Okaloosa 12091
- Santa Rosa 12113
- Suwannee 12121
- Taylor 12123
- Wakulla 12129
- Walton 12131
- Washington 12133
Georgia view state ↗ 76 N ▾
- Appling 13001
- Atkinson 13003
- Baker 13007
- Bartow 13015
- Berrien 13019
- Brantley 13025
- Brooks 13027
- Bryan 13029
- Bulloch 13031
- Burke 13033
- Charlton 13049
- Chatham 13051
- Cherokee 13057
- Clarke 13059
- Clay 13061
- Cobb 13067
- Colquitt 13071
- Columbia 13073
- Crisp 13081
- DeKalb 13089
- Dougherty 13095
- Early 13099
- Effingham 13103
- Elbert 13105
- Emanuel 13107
- Fannin 13111
- Floyd 13115
- Glynn 13127
- Grady 13131
- Habersham 13137
- Hancock 13141
- Haralson 13143
- Harris 13145
- Hart 13147
- Henry 13151
- Houston 13153
- Irwin 13155
- Jackson 13157
- Jasper 13159
- Jefferson 13163
- Johnson 13167
- Lanier 13173
- Lee 13177
- Liberty 13179
- Lincoln 13181
- Lowndes 13185
- Madison 13195
- McIntosh 13191
- Meriwether 13199
- Mitchell 13205
- Montgomery 13209
- Murray 13213
- Oconee 13219
- Pierce 13229
- Pike 13231
- Rabun 13241
- Screven 13251
- Seminole 13253
- Stephens 13257
- Sumter 13261
- Talbot 13263
- Tattnall 13267
- Telfair 13271
- Thomas 13275
- Tift 13277
- Towns 13281
- Treutlen 13283
- Union 13291
- Upson 13293
- Walker 13295
- Ware 13299
- Wayne 13305
- White 13311
- Whitfield 13313
- Wilkes 13317
- Worth 13321
Louisiana view state ↗ 39 N ▾
- Acadia 22001
- Allen 22003
- Avoyelles 22009
- Beauregard 22011
- Bienville 22013
- Bossier 22015
- Caddo 22017
- Calcasieu 22019
- Caldwell 22021
- Catahoula 22025
- Claiborne 22027
- Concordia 22029
- De Soto 22031
- East Baton Rouge 22033
- East Feliciana 22037
- Evangeline 22039
- Franklin 22041
- Grant 22043
- Jackson 22049
- Jefferson Davis 22053
- LaSalle 22059
- Lincoln 22061
- Livingston 22063
- Morehouse 22067
- Natchitoches 22069
- Ouachita 22073
- Rapides 22079
- Red River 22081
- Sabine 22085
- St. Helena 22091
- St. Landry 22097
- St. Tammany 22103
- Tangipahoa 22105
- Union 22111
- Vernon 22115
- Washington 22117
- Webster 22119
- West Feliciana 22125
- Winn 22127
Maryland view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 11 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 1 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 59 N ▾
- Avery 37011
- Beaufort 37013
- Bertie 37015
- Bladen 37017
- Brunswick 37019
- Buncombe 37021
- Burke 37023
- Caldwell 37027
- Chatham 37037
- Cherokee 37039
- Chowan 37041
- Clay 37043
- Columbus 37047
- Craven 37049
- Cumberland 37051
- Currituck 37053
- Edgecombe 37065
- Franklin 37069
- Gaston 37071
- Gates 37073
- Granville 37077
- Greene 37079
- Halifax 37083
- Harnett 37085
- Haywood 37087
- Hertford 37091
- Hoke 37093
- Hyde 37095
- Jackson 37099
- Johnston 37101
- Jones 37103
- Lenoir 37107
- Macon 37113
- Madison 37115
- Martin 37117
- McDowell 37111
- Mitchell 37121
- Onslow 37133
- Orange 37135
- Pasquotank 37139
- Pender 37141
- Pitt 37147
- Polk 37149
- Randolph 37151
- Richmond 37153
- Robeson 37155
- Sampson 37163
- Scotland 37165
- Stanly 37167
- Swain 37173
- Transylvania 37175
- Tyrrell 37177
- Union 37179
- Wake 37183
- Washington 37187
- Watauga 37189
- Wayne 37191
- Wilkes 37193
- Wilson 37195
South Carolina view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Aiken 45003
- Allendale 45005
- Anderson 45007
- Bamberg 45009
- Barnwell 45011
- Beaufort 45013
- Berkeley 45015
- Calhoun 45017
- Charleston 45019
- Chesterfield 45025
- Darlington 45031
- Dillon 45033
- Dorchester 45035
- Georgetown 45043
- Greenville 45045
- Horry 45051
- Jasper 45053
- Lancaster 45057
- Lee 45061
- Lexington 45063
- Marlboro 45069
- Oconee 45073
- Orangeburg 45075
- Pickens 45077
- Richland 45079
- Williamsburg 45089
Tennessee view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Texas view state ↗ 15 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 25 N ▾
- Caroline 51033
- Charles City 51036
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Essex 51057
- Goochland 51075
- Greensville 51081
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King William 51101
- Mathews 51115
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Richmond 51159
- Southampton 51175
- Suffolk (city) 51800
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/SYTI ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/3032999 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z