VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Oxydendrum arboreum | Sourwood 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Sourwood is of little value as a commercial timber species.  The wood
is used to make tool handles and for fuel.  Sourwood is used with a
mixture of other species for pulp [30,41].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Sourwood sprouts are often browsed by white-tailed deer [14,30].  In a
study on 35 acres (14 ha) of the Pisgah National Forest in North
Carolina, browse utilization of sourwood twigs by white-tailed deer was
74 percent [8].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
Sourwood snags provide cavity-nesting sites for various birds in
southern Appalachian forests [24].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Sourwood is occasionally used as an ornamental because of the brilliant
fall color of its leaves and midsummer flowers.  The flowers of sourwood
are also an important source of honey [30,32].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Sourwood sprouts often compete with the establishment of more desirable
species in second-growth and cutover areas [25,39].  Methods and
effectiveness of herbicide treatment for controlling sourwood and other
undesirable hardwoods have been given in detail [27,28,29,36].

Damaging Agents:  Several insects attack sourwood.  The dogwood-twig
borer (Oberea tripunctata) and the twig girdler (Oncideres cingulata)
attack the twigs.  The fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) and the hickory
horn devil (the larvae of the regal moth [Citheronia regalis]) consume
the foliage.  There are no known serious diseases that affect sourwood
[32].

Related categories for Species: Oxydendrum arboreum | Sourwood