Sourwood is a small to medium native tree of the Appalachian Mountains and adjacent areas, celebrated for two things: its drooping clusters of fragrant white bell-shaped flowers in midsummer, which attract bees and produce Sourwood honey — considered among the finest honeys in the world — and its spectacular scarlet and crimson fall foliage, among the earliest and most vivid of any eastern tree. Its acidic, strap-shaped leaves give it the name Sourwood. It grows on dry, acidic mountain slopes and ridges throughout the central and southern Appalachians.
Best time to see a Sourwood
The best time to see a Sourwood is April–August, when about 61% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 9,538 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
Not certain it is a Sourwood? What plant is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
Recent Sourwood sightings near you
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