Common Name: Sweet Leaf

General Information

Symplocos tinctoria is a semi-evergreen shrub that can grow from 2 - 15 metres tall. The plant only becomes leafless for a short time when it is flowering in the spring[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

South-eastern N. America - Oklahoma and Texas, east to Delaware and Florida.

Habitat

Moist mixed-deciduous hardwoods to dry pine-oak woods, rocky summits or ravines, hammocks, maritime forests, moist to wet pine barrens and flatwoods, streamheads and baygalls, creek swamps and bottomlands; at elevations up to 1,400 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	8.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

This species is not very cold-hardy in much of the temperate zone[].
Easily grown in any fertile soil[]. Prefers a sunny position in a well-drained fertile acid to neutral soil[]. Plants are often found growing in rich moist soils in dense shade in the wild[].
This species is not a true evergreen, but in climates with mild winters the previous years leaves are not lost until after the new leaves come into growth[].
Self-sterile, it needs cross-pollination with a different plant in the same species if seed and fruit are to be produced[].
The yellow flowers are sweetly perfumed[]. The leaves also have a sweet smell[].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - raw. Thick and downy, they have a pleasant sweet smell and taste[]. Chewed for their pleasantly sweet, slightly acid flavour that is refreshing and helps to ease thirst[, ].

Medicinal

The bitter, aromatic roots have been used as a tonic[, ]. A decoction of the scraped roots has been used in the treatment of fevers[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Many Symplocos species, including this one, are bio-accumulators of aluminum, storing the metal especially in their leaves[].

Other Uses

A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves, the bark and the fruits[, , ].
Many species in this genus accumulate aluminium, especially in their leaves and bark. Those species where the leaves turn yellow upon drying contain the largest quantities of aluminiun (up to 4.2% dry weight). Thus many Symplocos species can be used as the source of a yellow dye, and can also be used as a mordant[, , ].

Wood - soft, weak, light, close grained, easily worked[, , ]. It weighs 33lb per cubic foot[]. Used for turnery[, ].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed requires stratification and is best sown in a cold frame in late winter, it can take 12 months to germinate[]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the cold frame for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, mid summer in individual pots in a cold frame[, ]. Roots are formed in about 4 weeks. Good percentage[].