black gum

plural black gums · alternative blackgum

1. A tree native to eastern North America, Nyssa sylvatica.

   Sweet gums and black gums and sourwoods made the woods bright now when oaks and hickories had just begun to look dull and faded.

   1958, William O. Steele, The Perilous Road, published 2004, page 2

   2 more examples

   Old settlers learned from the bees and built their own beehives with two-foot sections sawn from the trunks of hollow black gums.

   2006, Richard M. Donovan, Paddling the Wild Neches, page 77

   The sanctuary's other habitats include forests of black cherry, red cedar, black locust, beech, and oak, with red maples and black gums in wet areas.

   2011, John S. Burk, The Wildlife of New England: A Viewer's Guide, page 175

   Synonyms: black tupelo, pepperidge, sour gum

2. Certain eucalyptus trees of Australia
   1. Eucalyptus aggregata, of south eastern Australia
   2. Eucalyptus ovata, of south eastern Australia

      Synonyms: blue-leaf sally, large-flower swamp gum, Marrawah gum, swamp gum, white gum

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see black, gum.

   2009, Tricia Telep, The Eternal Kiss, 2010, Large Print Edition, page 67, He grinned, displaying crooked teeth and black gums. Yikes.