Sweetleaf – Symplocos tinctoria | Horse Sugar & Native Healing Shrub

The Sweet Secret of the Southern Understory

Sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria), also called Horse Sugar for the way deer and livestock seek out its naturally sweet leaves, is a semi-evergreen shrub native to the longleaf pine savannas and moist woodlands of the Gulf South. Its leaves were used historically as a yellow dye plant and in folk medicine for kidney and urinary complaints. Fragrant white flowers bloom in early spring before the leaves emerge, making it one of the first nectar sources of the season for native bees.

• Light: Part shade to full sun
• Evergreen: Semi-evergreen
• Maintenance: Low

A rare and beautiful native that rewards patience with early spring blooms and deep bayou character.