Flower Notes:
Yellow (Yellow-green bracts; appear in fascicles)
Foliage Notes:
Green; Yellow (Golden yellow fall foliage)
Stem Notes:
Gray (prominent lenticels, bark is smooth)
Fruit Notes:
Black (Purple-black drupes)
Soil Notes:
Prefers wet soils but dry soil tolerant.
Range:
Ohio River Valley to the Mississippi River Delta and west to Texas
Diagnostic Characteristics:
Leaves are opposite, simple, 1 to 4" long, ovate-oblong, to ovate-lanceolate, slightly serrate from the center to the tip, acuminate, cuneate, and glabrous. Flowers are dioecious, in small axillary clusters or fascicles, yellow-green bracts with protruding stamens that appear before new leaves emerge. Fruits are curved-ovoid, purple-black drupes, 1/2" to 3/4" long, with thin pulp and a large seed.
Indiana Native 
