1. columnar tree of eastern North America having horizontal limbs and small leaves that emerge late in spring and have brilliant color in early fall • Syn: sour gum, pepperidge, Nyssa sylvatica • Hypernyms: tupelo, tupelo tree 2. a small mallee with rough dark-colored bark toward the butt; yields a red eucalyptus kino gum • Syn: black mallee, black sally, Eucalytus stellulata • Hypernyms: mallee