It was formerly used in the interior finish of railroad sleeping cars. Mixed buds of the American sweetgum form in mid-September, and the tree drops its leaves in the fall, and goes dormant during winter. It is native to the warm … Family Hamamelidaceae . The species grows best in moist, acidic loam or clay soil, and tolerates poor drainage. Harvest the seed capsules at the end of October or November, dry in a warm place and extract the seed by shaking the capsule. Similar species: One cultivated variety of sweet gum, L. styraciflua 'Rotundiloba', does not bear the spiny fruits that many people object to in a public landscape. Perhaps it is time for some rehabilitation. Sweet gum is a native shade tree that has glossy green leaves with five lobes, similar to a sugar maple. Rivalling the best Japanese maples, award-winning Liquidambar styraciflua 'Worplesdon' (Sweet Gum) is a magnificent, deciduous tree adorned with a straight trunk and a broadly conical crown at maturity. Other notes. From March to April, meiosis occurs to produce haploid gametes, with pollen dispersal occurring afterward. The species was introduced into Europe in 1681 by John Banister, the missionary collector sent out by Bishop Compton, who planted it in the palace gardens at Fulham in London, England. The bark on the trunk is deeply furrowed. Type. From $285. No information available. Sweet-gum is known for its unique star-shaped leaves with outstanding yellow, red, and purple fall color. [16], Small branches with edgewise plates of bark, The leaves usually have five (but sometimes three or seven) sharply pointed palmate lobes. Chlorosis can develop on alkaline soil, especially where organic matter is low. The wood is very compact and fine-grained, the heartwood being reddish, and, when cut into planks, marked transversely with blackish belts. Other names: French name: Copalme d’Amérique. Filter Sort . Fertilization occurs in late spring, and winged seeds, formed within the mature fruit and inside "seed balls," are dispersed by the wind from September to November. D. dryina infection on sweet gum has been associated with the disease red leaf spot. Liquidambar styraciflua, commonly called sweet gum, is a low-maintenance deciduous shade tree that is native from Connecticut to Florida and Missouri further south to Texas, Mexico and Central America. $1,185. [14] The tree is a symmetrical shape and crowns into an egg shape when the branches get too heavy after its first two years of cultivation. However, the wood is heavy and hard with an interlocking grain,[7] but is difficult to season. The lesions tended to merge resulting in large areas of dead tissue. [18] Its salt tolerance is moderate. From $165. [7] The name "storax" has long been confusingly applied to the aromatic gum or resin of this species, that of L. orientalis of Turkey, and to the resin better known as benzoin from various tropical trees in the genus Styrax. Habitat. Round, globose, 1–1.5 inches (25–38 mm) in diameter. The imperfect fungus Dicarpella dryina Sutton is a leaf parasite reported to occur on a wide range of host plants, including species of sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.). Foliage turns yellow to burgundy in fall. See more ideas about Sweet gum, Sweet gum tree crafts, Pine cone crafts. The Sweet Gum tree is the sand spur of the forest. Seeds/gr: 166. Sweet-gum is a handsome native tree that reaches the northern edge of its range in New England. mexicana. As a monoecious plant, a sweet gum bears male and female flowers. The Sweet gum plant is from the genus Liquidambar and is a member of the deciduous hardwoods or Hamamelidaceae. [11] However, in the northern part of its range, and where planted in yet colder areas, the leaves are often killed by frost while still green. Timber … Rare Seeds can also be produced from a Sweet Gem Berry … [24] It is also used for veneer for plywood. Staminate flowers destitute of calyx and corolla, but are surrounded by hairy bracts. The species is also known as the "red gum", for its reddish bark.[9]. In other regions of the U.S., sweet gum populations may not be as susceptible to local populations of this fungus. The base is truncate or slightly heart-shaped. Each of these seed balls can contain up to 50 seeds. Common name: 'Slender Silhouette' American sweetgum. This resin is sometimes called "liquid amber" because of its golden color and sweet odor. 1753“ 3. Liquidambar styraciflua, or Sweetgum, is a large. Growing sweet gum tree: Transplant when young -- the sweet gum resents root disturbance when it matures. Noteworthy Characteristics. See more ideas about sweet gum, sweet gum tree crafts, pine cone crafts. They come out of the bud plicate, downy, pale green, when full grown are bright green, smooth, shining above, paler beneath. Sweet gum tree has a breathtakingly beautiful fall foliage color that serves to be its crowning glory. The Sweet gum plant is from the genus Liquidambar and is a member of the deciduous hardwoods or Hamamelidaceae. The "gum balls," as described above, develop from female flower when they dry up and fall to the ground. It is most populous in the American South, though, especially in the lower Mississippi Valley. Sweet Gum Marquis Bracelet. This means that only one tree is needed for the flowers to be pollinated, and a single tree can produce the spiky fruits even when another sweet gum tree is not in sight. Their fall color lasts much longer than most other trees. The deeply cut grey or brownish-grey bark forms winged projections on the twigs. It may be clear, reddish, or yellow, with a pleasant smell like ambergris. Beautiful pyramidal tree for parks and streets. dryina. Their fruit is effective against rheumatic pain. The common name of sweet gum refers to an aromatic balsam or gum that exudes from wounds to the tree. These all-natural sweet gum seed pods (or fruit, or balls; also known as “witches burrs”) are hand-gathered in Brooklyn after naturally falling to the ground. It takes the sweet gum tree 20 to 30 years to mature enough to produce its fruit. The lumber is made into boxes and crates, furniture, cabinets for radios, televisions, and phonographs, interior trim, and millwork. Worplesdon Sweet Gum has forest green foliage throughout the season. Edible fruit/nut tree? There are many ovules but few mature.[11]. [17] Find sweet gum fruit stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Pistillate flowers with a two-celled, two-beaked ovary, the carpels produced into a long, recurved, persistent style. The sticky or gummy sap of sweet gums serves a purpose for the tree. [11] They contain tannin and when bruised give a resinous fragrance. NO. It is often the bane of some homeowner’s existence because of its troublesome fruit. [28], Liquidambar styraciflua is a popular ornamental and forestal tree, cultivated for its distinctive foliage and intense autumn colors. The twigs and branches are quite break-resistant. If your sweet gum is too tall to spray, or if you don't want to attempt spraying a small tree, you can stop fruit production by having a certified arborist administer a trunk injection. It takes a beautiful polish, but warps badly in drying. It is not, however, sweet. ), but can grow as far south as central Florida and eastern Texas, and as far west as Missouri and Oklahoma. Growing sweet gum tree: Transplant when young -- the sweet gum resents root disturbance when it matures. Liquidambar styraciflua is a medium-sized to large tree, growing anywhere from 50–70 feet (15–21 m) in cultivation and up to 150 feet (46 m) in the wild, with a trunk up 2–3 feet (0.61–0.91 m) in diameter, on average. [16], While the starry five-pointed leaves of Liquidambar resemble those of some maples (Acer), Liquidambar is easily distinguished from Acer by its glossy, leathery leaves that are positioned singly (alternate), not in pairs (opposite) on the stems. [14] In abundance, they can leave a lawn lumpy. It is currently classified in the plant family Altingiaceae, but was formerly considered a member of the Hamamelidaceae.[6]. Trees may live to 400 years. It is used for its lumber, and is one of the most common sources of hardwood and plywood, but also produces spectacular colors as it drops its leaves in the fall. Liquidambar styraciflua is known as the American sweetgum. Browse 559 sweet gum tree stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Tannins (a type of biomolecule found in trees to protect it from fire, insects, and bacteria) have been reported to occur in healthy tissue of a variety of plants including sweet gum. The female structure is what hardens up into what are colloquially known as "gum balls," discussed further in the following section on sweetgum fruit. Splitting Sweet Gum. Goldfinches, purple finches, squirrels, and chipmunks eat the seeds of the tree. The sweet gum grows in a long list of states, thinning to a more patchy distribution as it spreads southward into Mexico and Central America. These fruits can litter the ground and are sometimes understood as a safety hazard. Sweet Gum Dandelion Flowers Plants Dandelions Planters Flower Florals Planting. SEEDS OF LIQUIDAMBAR STYRACIFLUA - SWEET GUM. American sweetgum can reach 80 feet in height at maturity, with a spread of about 60 feet. The fruits of liquidambar or sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) are composed of a spherical cluster of small capsules, each capsule with a sharp-pointed style and a pericarp bearing one or two tiny winged seeds.This shade tree is native throughout the eastern and midwestern United States. The ovaries all more or less cohere and harden in fruit. In the carpentry industry, the timber is referred to as satin walnut[12] and is one of the most important materials for plywood manufacturers. The distinctive compound fruit is hard, dry, and globose,1–1.5 inches (25–38 mm) in diameter, composed of numerous (40–60) capsules. From $680. 39. Often, newly planted trees will scarcely grow at all for the first two or … [8], The common name "sweet gum" refers to the species' "sweetish gum",[9] contrasting with the black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), only distantly related, with which the sweet gum overlaps broadly in range. Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) Interesting Information About Plant: The tree received its name for the sweet taste and gummy feel of its sap. Sweet Gum Healing. [34], sfn error: no target: CITEREFKormanik1990 (, 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T33966A67700725.en, "hazel pine Liquidambar styraciflua American sweetgum – Dizionario inglese-italiano WordReference", "Liquidambar styraciflua: American sweet gum", "US National Arboretum Picture of the Week Answer -", "Liquidambar styraciflua – Species Details", "Chopsticks Carry 'Made in America' Label", "Flight 93 Memorial Still $10M Short on Funds", Southern Research Station (www.srs.fs.fed.us), University of Michigan – Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of, Landscaping.about.com: American Sweetgum Trees, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liquidambar_styraciflua&oldid=996207791, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 'Burgundy' – dark red to purple fall colors may persist through winter, 'Clydesform' – columnar or narrowly pyramidal; slow growth to 9 meters; yellow-orange fall colors; also sold as 'Emerald Sentinel', 'Festival' – columnar; pale green summer leaves; bright fall hues of yellow, pink and red; less hardy than most, 'Goduzam' – variegated; pink to red-purple in autumn; also called 'Gold Dust', 'Grazam' – pyramidal, with glossy leaves. Finally, sweetgum trees can fix nitrogen and promote soil health. Liquidambar, commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They tend to be about 1.5 inches in diameter and are yellow/green while still on the tree and dark brown in color once they fall, usually dropping in late winter/early spring. Seed collection: Sweetgum fruit is an aggregate of small 2-celled capsules that from a spiked ball. Quick to grow. When the fruit opens and the seeds are released, each capsule is associated with a small hole (40–60 of these) in the compound fruit. Uses for a Sweet Gum Tree Ornamental and Landscape Uses. Fall color can be quite dramatic, with a combination of yellows, reds, and purples. [13] The flowers are unisexual[18] and greenish in color. Its specific epithet styraciflua is an old generic name meaning "flowing with storax" (a plant resin). The American sweetgum is primarily distributed in the eastern and southern regions of the United States. Fruit matures in September–October, persists through winter; light brown, globe-shaped, formed by the union of multiple individual fruits, hard, spiny due to numerous woody, hornlike projections, 1–1½ inches in diameter. Orange, red and purple fall colors, 'Gumball' – dwarf shrubby cultivar seldom more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall, with purple-red fall color, 'Moraine' – upright, rounded form, fast growth, red fall color, hardy to −30 °C, 'Palo Alto' – various shades of red in fall; best in California, 'Parasol' – develops rounded crown; mature height 10 meters; deep red fall color, 'Rotundiloba' – sterile cultivar with rounded lobes on leaves, originally discovered in, 'Slender Silhouette' – very narrow columnar form, This page was last edited on 25 December 2020, at 04:14. The inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot, becoming half an inch long, green tipped with red. Deep green leaves have, as the cultivar name suggests, distinctively rounded lobes (5-7). It is currently classified in the plant During the summer of 1994 in the Nacogdoches County area of Texas, a prominent leaf spot on sweet gum was widespread. The leaves are three to seven inches broad with glandular serrate teeth. Sweet-Gum other name: Alligator-Wood other name: American-Storax family: Witch-hazel family (Hamamelidaceae) species: deciduous tree height: up to 45 m (148 ft) leaf: The leaves of the Sweetgum is hand shaped, lobed with typically five leaf tips. The sweet gum resembles a maple tree, and in the summer, the star-shaped leaves and sturdy trunk are impressive, if easily overlooked. [12] They are 3–5 inches wide on average and have three distinct bundle scars. In John Ray's Historia Plantarum (1686) it is called Styrax liquida. $155. It was introduced to Britain in 1681. Big yellow and reddish star-shaped leaves with a balsamic fragrance. The tree is a symmetrical shape and crowns into an egg shape when the branches get too heavy after its first two years of cultivation. The fruit is a multicapsular spherical head and hangs on the branches during the winter. see more; Synonyms Liquidambar styraciflua var. Names. Each leaf blade tends to be 4-8 inches, and the edges are serrated, meaning slightly jagged/notched around each leaf's border. From $485. Although cells of healthy sweet gum tissue appear rich in tannins, these materials apparently were not effective in preventing fungal colonization by D. Fallen, opened fruits are often abundant beneath the trees; these have been popularly nicknamed "burr (or bir) balls",[14] "gum balls",[19] "space bugs", "sticker balls",[20] or "spike balls". It is a kind of native balsam, or resin, resembling turpentine. Also, the American sweetgum tree does not grow well in shady areas. It has crimson autumn foliage and unusual fruit, similar to that of the London Plane. Its fruit cluster is a round ball often persisting in winter, as if the naked branches had been hung with woody Christmas ornaments. The sweetgum is a monoecious species and is pollinated primarily by wind. [7], Another distinctive feature of the tree is the peculiar appearance of its small branches and twigs. The round fruit balls are produced from fertilized flowers. The bark... Commercial Uses. Being readily dyed black, it is sometimes substituted for ebony for such uses as inexpensive picture frames. The veneer and plywood, (typically backed with some other kind of wood which shrinks and warps less) are used for boxes, pallets, crates, baskets, and interior woodwork. Pl. It is not considered a Fruit or Vegetable and thus cannot be used in a Keg or Preserves Jar. If sweetgum blight develops, then the ends of those branches infected (usually toward the top) die. [13] It is deeply fissured with scaly ridges. To read more about these weird looking things, check out the NY Times and Wikipedia 398 images, Sony a6000, E 3.5/30 Macro lens Processed in RealityCapture with a tiny amount of cleanup in Blender. You painfully find them with your feet. It is too liable to decay for outdoor use. "The Sweetgum Tree" by the Spanish band Nino Y Pistola, https://bwwellsassociation.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/spring-flowers-of-th…, http://www.carolinanature.com/trees/list.html, http://www.hort.cornell.edu/bjorkman/lab/arboretum/trees/sweetgum.html, http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_043681.pdf, http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LIST2, http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c116, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/uses-sweet-gum-tree-44350.html, http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/liquidambar/styraci…, http://hvp.osu.edu/pocketgardener/source/description/li_iflua.html, http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=53, ← Previous Tree: Black Locust (False Acacia). The fruits of liquidambar or sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) are composed of a spherical cluster of small capsules, each capsule with a sharp-pointed style and a pericarp bearing one or two tiny winged seeds. The Sweet Gum is a deciduous tree native to south-eastern USA and the cloud-forest mountains of Mexico and Central America. Sweetgum - twigs & buds close up - March 2019 . [26], The tree's gum resin, for which the tree is named, exudes from the bark of the tree when wounded. From $485. It is truly an ornamental cultivators pride to lay hands on sweet gum tree, and plant it in his garden to make a landscape design worth innumerable peans and aplomb. It is sprayed on, which makes me wonder if it would be more economical for arborists (and therefore you) to apply. Once the seed has germinated and the vegetative buds appear, there is a rapid growth of leaves, also during the spring time. It is commonly planted in southern California for its beautiful crimson foliage during the late fall. South Florida Atlas of Florida Plants)[21], Grown as an ornamental tree in Australia, Liquidambar styraciflua has a distribution on mainland Australia from southwestern Western Australia, southern South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and all the way up to the Atherton Tablelands in far North Queensland. Yields long-stemmed, woody, burr-like fruit that is approximately 1½" in diameter. Staminate flowers in terminal racemes two to three inches long, the pistillate in a solitary head on a slender peduncle borne in the axil of an upper leaf. The sweetgum produces a resin that can harden and be used for chewing gum as well as medicinal purposes. However, the first mention of any use of the amber is described by Juan de Grijalva, the nephew of the governor of Cuba, in the year 1517. 40. Its active ingredient is ethephon, another chemical that I believe may be regulated. This shade tree is native throughout the eastern and midwestern United States. They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae. It is not considered a Fruit or Vegetable and thus cannot be used in a Keg or Preserves Jar.It also does not benefit from the Tiller profession.. Rare Seeds can be purchased from the Traveling Cart for 1,000g in Spring & Summer, or for 600-1,000g in any season. In formal mall plantings where exact duplicates are wanted, this has caused some disappointment. Inside each capsule are one or two small winged seeds. Silver King Sweet Gum has attractive silver-variegated forest green foliage throughout the season. 'Rotundiloba' is a narrowly pyramidal, deciduous tree which typically grows 60-75' tall (less frequently to 100'). The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding crimson in the fall. No information available. The earliest known published record of Liquidambar styraciflua is in a work by Spanish naturalist Francisco Hernández published posthumously in 1615, in which he describes the species as a large tree producing a fragrant gum resembling liquid amber, whence the genus name Liquidambar. The trees’ spike ball fruit is almost as telltale for identification as the star-shaped leaves. The bark is a light brown tinged with red and sometimes gray with dark streaks and weighs 37 lbs. Sweetgum is used principally for lumber, veneer, plywood, slack cooperage, fuel, and pulpwood. The American sweetgum gets its scientific and common name from the gummy sap that is found directly under that bark and seeps out when the tree is wounded. Often, newly planted trees will scarcely grow at all for the first two or three years. In Missouri, it typically occurs in moist low woods and along streams only in the far southeastern corner of the state (Steyermark). The woody capsules are mostly filled with abortive seeds resembling sawdust. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. The leaf margin is serrated. Florel® brand Growth Regulator is registered to reduce or eliminate undesirable fruit development on many ornamental trees and shrubs such as: apple, buckeye, carob, cottonwood, crabapple, elm, flowering pear, horse chestnut, maple, oak, olive, pine, sour orange, sweet gum (liquidambar) and sycamore. The bark of the American sweetgum is a gray-brown color, and becomes more and more ridged/fissured with increasing age. Sweetgum. From $285. Narrow and erect when young, the tree develops an oblong to rounded crown at maturity. Its shape is pyramidal, becoming more rounded with age and yields long-stemmed, woody, burr-like fruit that is approximately 1½\" in diameter. Instead of having the cookie-cutter look of trees like Bradford pear, the fruitless sweet gum has a more free form habit. There is another commercial product called Floral Brand Fruit Eliminator® that acts as a defruiting agent to control sweet gum balls. [27], L. styraciflua seeds may be a renewable source of shikimic acid. This tree is monoecious, meaning that it has both staminate and pistillate structures in the same plant. This species occurs abundantly at Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, Highlands County, FL, and even southwest of Lake Okeechobee. See more ideas about sweet gum, crafts, sweet gum tree crafts. The bark on the … Within Chinese medicine, the properties of the sweet gum seed are also believed to be able to unblock energy pathways and enable the spread of qi, a vital force in traditional Chinese medicine. After dormancy, the small green flowers of the sweetgum begin to bloom from March to May. Luna and Promethea moth caterpillars feed on the leaves. The wood can be easily identified thanks to its star-shaped leaves, which usually consist of five points and spiked fruit. The flowers tend to sit on higher up branches. Native to eastern North America, Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweet Gum) is a magnificent, large, deciduous tree adorned with a straight trunk and a broadly conical crown. Native across much of eastern North America, the sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) produces hundreds of golf ball-sized seed pods or capsules annually. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern United States, and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates. Deciduous tree growing up to 40m with yellow flowers in spring. Gold Sweet Gum Small Slice Pendant. Latin (scientific) name: Liquidambar styraciflua. Art in the Everyday. [18] The seeds stratify within 30–90 days at 33°–41 °F or soaked in water for 15–20 days. While you wait, the tree has much to offer. May 15, 2019. Nice fall color. The sweetgum tree can withstand a wide range of temperatures, given that winter temperatures in the Northeast can get below freezing and summer temperatures can near 100 degrees Farenheit. Harvest the fruit in the fall after they have turned from green to dark brown and before the beak-like capsules open to release the seeds. (see the Univ. [13] Trees may live to 400 years. Rare Seeds can be purchased from the Traveling Cart for 1,000g in Spring & Summer, or for 600-1,000g in any season. Propagation Method. … From $285. [11] The branches carry layers of cork. Sweetgum trees only begin to flower at maturity around 20-30 years old. Results of this investigation indicate that D. dryina can penetrate leaf tissue directly, thus having the ability to initiate infection on both upper and lower leaf surfaces. Sweet gum definition is - a North American tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) of the witch-hazel family with palmately lobed glossy green leaves, corky twigs, a round spiny brown fruit cluster, and hard wood. The lobed palmate leaves turn an outstanding red in the fall. Mar 17, 2018 - Explore Friends Drift Inn's board "sweet gum", followed by 942 people on Pinterest. Privacy policy. Sweet Gum Slice Bracelet. Add color and whimsy to your kitchen with our Eco-friendly "Swedish" dishcloths. The resin is produced by stripping, boiling, and pressing the tree's bark. Fall color can be quite dramatic, with a combination of yellows, reds, and purples. Younger trees, on the other hand, tend to have smoother bark, and occasionally displace cork-like projections, as shown in the picture. The vicious seed pods have impaled many a forager and has done much to ruin the Sweet Gums reputation. Sweet Gum Chain. Common English name: Sweetgum. It is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves (similar to maple leaves) and its hard, spiked fruits. Sweet Gum Slice Buckle. Environmental stress factors may also be involved, as reports have indicated that herbicide application and chlorosis caused by iron deficiency may increase susceptibility of D. dryina. Some other fun facts about the American sweetgum include that it provides protection and food for many forest animals, including squirrels, deer, doves, and chipmunks. These flower structures are quite flowers and can be easily damaged in the cold. [11], Liquidambar styraciflua is a medium-sized to large tree, growing anywhere from 50–70 feet (15–21 m) in cultivation and up to 150 feet (46 m) in the wild,[12] with a trunk up 2–3 feet (0.61–0.91 m) in diameter, on average. Sweetgum. They are decorative deciduous trees that are used in the wood industry and for ornamental purposes. The sweet gum got its name for the resinous sap that results when you score its bark. The spiky seed pods from the sweetgum tree are not only fascinating to look at, they can actually help out in the garden. The fall foliage of the American sweetgum is quite spectacular, as shown in the picture to the left; leaves can be yellow, orange, red, and even purple during late October and November before leaves are dropped for winter dormancy in December. Explore {{searchView.params.phrase}} by colour family {{familyColorButtonText(colorFamily.name)}} beautiful fall day landscape with large sweetgum tree - sweet gum tree stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images . Sweet gum, a tree of the Witch hazel family (Hamamelidaceae), native of the eastern United States, also Mexico and Central America. On the other hand, in the extreme southern or tropical parts of its range, some trees are evergreen or semi-evergreen, with negligible fall color. It can be especially resistant to attack by insects, which makes them very helpful trees in reforestation projects and reclamations of former mineral mines. Medicinal Uses. The sweetgum has a Nahuatl name, Ocotzocuahuitl, which translates to tree that gives pine resin from ocotl (pine), tzotl (resin), cuahuitl (tree), which refers to the use of the tree's resin. They may prevent pathogen invasion by inhibiting fungal enzyme activity. [7], The US government distribution maps for this species are incorrect concerning the southern limit of distribution in Florida. Gardening enthusiasts would be glad to welcome and beseech the fantastic fuchsia to adorn their garden decor. It typically grows with other coastal plain species such as willow oak and sweetbay magnolia. Neither the flowers nor the fruit are ornamentally significant. Mature leaves are 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 cm.) Its fruit cluster is a round ball often persisting in winter, as if the naked branches had been hung with woody Christmas ornaments. Before you write them off as just a nuisance, consider these simple ways to utilize the Sweet Gum Ball Tree and it’s falling “fruit”. Infection and fungal development of D. dryina were investigated on leaves of sweet gum using a combination of microscopic techniques. The leaves, which are five-lobed and shaped like stars, provide excellent fall foliage color. Note that if your sweetgum doesn’t bear fruit, this is probably because it is a sterile cultivar called Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Rotundiloba’ that was created specifically so that the fruits, which are very slippery when burst, would not lead to accidents on parkings or along roads. Sweetgum never bears fruit before the age of 25 years. Hardiness zone(s) 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b. changing leaves - sweet gum tree stock pictures… The fruitless sweetgum should be planted in full sun where it … [23] Its wood is bright reddish brown (with the sapwood nearly white) and may have black grain in the heartwood; it is heavy, straight, satiny, and close-grained, but not strong. In some cases, at the peak of the fall foliage season, certain leaves may be red, others purple, others yellow, and still others orange (all on the same plant).