sourwood
1
9.6
- noun
- /ˈsaʊərˌwʊd/
- US
:
sourwood
- The leaves of the sourwood are edible but have a distinct sour taste.
- sourwood tree
- sourwood honey
- sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
Examples
-
Hollow-eyed men they were likely to be, lean-jawed and chewing on a twig of sourwood.
Fiction book (1991) -
Hikers often enjoy the beauty of the sourwood as they explore the eastern forests.
-
With your sourwoods at color, no, indeed.
Fiction book (2001) -
We walked under the growth of sourwood and shad trees, and I kept my eyes turned mostly upward into the leafy branches overhead.
Fiction book (1991) -
He carried half a dozen of her biscuits sweetened by his own sourwood honey; they were wrapped in wax paper.
Fiction book (1991) -
The sourwood tree is known for its fragrant white flowers and distinctive bark.
Synonyms
A tree that loses its leaves, with sour leaves, deep rough bark and small white fragrant flowers
A North American tree with rough bark, white fragrant flowers, sour leaves
A flowering tree with sour-tasting leaves and white flowers
How Sour
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word sourwood is a simple compound of sour ('tart or acidic') and wood ('tree'). It was named for the tree's sour-tasting leaves and nectar, which is why bees make a special honey from its flowers.