nyssa
(ˈnɪsə)
[mod.L. (J. F. Gronovius in Linnæus Systema Naturæ (1735)), f. Nysa the name of a water nymph, in allusion to the swamp habitat of some species.]
A deciduous tree of the genus so called, belonging to the family Nyssaceæ and native to North America and Asia, esp. the American species Nyssa sylvatica, the tupelo.
| 1886 G. Nicholson Illustr. Dict. Gardening II. 461/1 Nyssas thrive best in low, damp, moist situations, such as peat swamps. 1901 L. H. Bailey Cycl. Amer. Hort. III. 1109/2 Nyssas are trees or shrubs with petiolate, usually entire leaves and small flowers borne in short racemes or dense heads. 1961 Amateur Gardening 23 Sept. 3/3 The tulip tree..and the nyssa in the Long Walk to the Pagoda..are among the tallest trees in the Garden [at Kew]. 1962 Times 24 Dec. 11/1 No exotics means..no Nyssas. |