Sourwood leaves are edible and the blooms attract honeybees. Bruce Ingram
Come autumn, the brilliant red leaves of the sourwood tree emblazon our mountain hollows, making this season the best one to locate where Oxydendrum arboretum lives. Because for the rest of the year, this is a humble mid-size tree often overlooked. That’s a shame, because the sourwood is only found in Eastern North America and is most abundant in the Blue Ridge – making it a quintessential Southern Appalachians tree.
Native Americans and early settlers depended on the leaves to cure maladies as different as indigestion and diarrhea. Actually, those leaves are edible as I’ve munched on them in late spring. But it is the mid-summer when the tree brings forth its most important asset – the fragrant white flowers that attract honey and other bees as well as multitudes of other pollinators.
The buttery delight that honeybees produce is reputed to be the premier honey that comes from these mountains…and I agree with that lofty status. So consider planting a sourwood tree in your backyard or back 40. Eat the leaves in spring, watch the bees visit in summer, and admire the foliage come fall.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram will profile a different wild edible every month. For more information on their book Living the Locavore Lifestyle, contact them at bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com
