A sweet gum is a deciduous tree in the witch hazel family that ranges in height from 60 to 100 feet and has a narrow oval canopy. Liquidambar styraciflua sweet gum fact sheet author. After the tree grows for about 15 to 20 years, it begins to flower. Affordable and search from millions of royalty free images, photos and vectors. Harvesting chewing gum from the sweetgum bushcraft usa forums. The liquidambar styraciflua growth rate is moderate to rapid. Sweetgum grows throughout much of the eastern united states and is found scattered throughout mexico and cen tral america. If it available for your country it will shown as book reader and user fully subscribe will benefit by having full. The sweet gum tree s roots form a wide network and the roundup with get into the ground and groundwater and destroy other trees and plants as well. Their fall color lasts much longer than most other trees. Over 239 sweet gum tree pictures to choose from, with no signup needed.
Apr 07, 2016 spring flowers of the sweet gum tree liquidambar styraciflua posted on april 7, 2016 by b. Books similar to the sweet gum tree the sweet gum tree. Sprayed 6 acres of open fields for sweet gums this fall with garlon. Happidaze sweet gum has forest green foliage throughout the season. The sweetgum is a fastgrowing tree that develops a significant taproot that tolerate high moisture levels in soil. Sweet gum bark and leaves have some but the highest concentration is in the infertile seeds. In english it is known as malva nut tree, or sometimes taiwan. The darkgreen, shiny foliage has lighter undersides.
It is a deciduous tree that can be found in southeastern u. Sweet gum, also spelled as sweetgum, is a highly popular landscaping tree in north america. Although native to eastern north america, it is widely planted throughout the continent in its range. The sweet gum tree attracts wildlife including blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, squirrels, chipmunks and luna moths. The sweet gum trees roots form a wide network and the roundup with get into the ground and groundwater and destroy other trees and plants as well. With respect to its characteristic features, it is known by different names, like redgum, american sweetgum, alligator wood, starleaved gum, liquid amber or simply, gumtree. Taking his poetic material on a cinematic journey through europes artrock lineage, hes released several albums and eps over a decade, collaborating with such luminaries as isobel campbell, heather nova, earl harvin tindersticks, marty willsonpiper the church. Its shape is pyramidal, becoming more rounded with age. Order or download materials at the purdue extension. Sweetgum is primarily used for lumber, veneer, plywood, slack cooperage, railroad ties, fuel.
Do not tear bark from the same tree many times or it may harm or kill the tree. Sweetgum forest products laboratory forest service. Be careful when locating sweetgum as a street tree since its large, aggressive roots may lift curbs and sidewalks. Sweetgum is a good choice as a windbreak tree because of its fast growth and tolerance of. This name was derived from the trees innate property of secreting a resinlike substance. Sweetgum grows in a narrow pyramid to a height of 75 feet and may spread to 50 feet. Rotundiloba is slowly but steadily being recognized as a superior tree to the species, especially for street tree use or near other paved surfaces, since it develops fewer typical burrlike sweetgum fruit. Advertisement after the tree is down, severing a couple of the main roots will destroy what is left and make them easier to. T he sweet gum tree is a truly beautiful tree for your landscape, although not everyone is a fan. Nov 22, 2019 the sweet gum tree attracts wildlife including blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, squirrels, chipmunks and luna moths. Advertisement after the tree is down, severing a couple of the main roots will destroy what is left and make them easier to remove with equipment. Therefore it need a free signup process to obtain the book.
Description the fall foliage of the american sweetgum. Other cultivars do have the pods, which drop from the tree after the leaves fall. Department of forestry and natural resources, purdue university, west lafayette, in 47907. This large, deciduous tree is often mistaken for maple as the foliage is similar in appearance with 57 pointed, palmate lobes. Even with help from the splitter, handling sweet gum is time consuming. Sweet gum tree leaves have five to seven pointed lobes, and their shape will remind you of a star. Sweet gum liquidambar styraciflua this massive tree was almost certainly planted. Although the spring flowers are fairly large, they are held high in the tree and are difficult to see. Related commercial species sweetgum is inventoried in the forest as a single species. Several years ago i planted several sweet gum trees on my property. Welcome,you are looking at books for reading, the the sweet gum tree, you will able to read or download in pdf or epub books and notice some of author may have lock the live reading for some of country. Sweet gum tree has maplelike leaves that turn yellow to red in the fall. Happidaze sweet gum is a deciduous tree with a strong central leader and a distinctive and refined pyramidal form.
Some is cut to firewood length, some in 12 to 16 foot lengths. It hails from the altingiaceae family tree, belonging to the saxifragales order. While some gardeners find the sticky balls create a mess to clean up in the fall. Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beanseveryday fare for eightyearold alix french, the. Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beanseveryday fare for eightyearold alix french, the precocious darling of a respected southern family. Leaves turn yellowpurplered in the fall, and stay on the tree quite late. Liquidambar styraciflua is known as the american sweetgum.
In missouri, it typically occurs in moist low woods and along streams only in the far southeastern corner of the state steyermark. Sweetgum is a good choice as a windbreak tree because of its fast growth and tolerance of a wide variety of sites. What is the best way to prevent this and what is the best way to. Joined sep 25, 2005 messages 3,548 location canada. Sweet gum tree definition of sweet gum tree by the free. Liquidambar styraciflua sweetgum environmental horticulture. Originally, youd only be able to find this species in southeastern coastal states, but it has made a steady journey westward throughout the mid to late 20 th century. Liquidambar styraciflua rotundiloba, is a sterile, nonfruiting culitivar of sweetgum that does not produce the famous spiky seed pods, commonly called gumballs. Jan 14, 2011 sweet gum, also spelled as sweetgum, is a highly popular landscaping tree in north america.
Its seeds are eaten by birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. The bark of the american sweetgum is a graybrown color, and becomes more. Sweet gum tree is a tall, majestic tree thats difficult to beat for symmetrical beauty in a landscape setting. Neither the flowers nor the fruit are ornamentally significant. Sep 21, 2017 growing up to 100 feet tall and three feet wide, sweetgum trees thrive along streams and lakes. Sweet gum tree i have a 20yearold sweet gum, approximately 50. Scaphium affine has culinary and traditional medicinal uses. Visitors welcome by appointment, call ahead 360 4250541. Creating a band of barkless area around the tree is harmful to the tree.
Find highquality sweet gum tree stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. Falls colors are a striking orange, yellow and red. Gum produced by scraping off the bark was once used for medicine and chewing gum. This sweetgum makes a nice park, campus, or residential shade tree for large properties. Sweet gum tree is the name given to the solo work of loirevalley based multiinstrumentalist and singersongwriter arno sojo. The flowers eventually turn into prickly round balls full of seeds. May 19, 2011 sweet gum resin or sap may stick to your teeth. Fact sheet pdf doc plant guide pdf doc data source and documentation.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the sweet gum tree. The american sweetgum trees are classified as liquidambar styraciflua according to plant taxonomy. Native from extreme southwest connecticut to texas, it has starshaped leaves. The star anise pod is about 7% shikimic acid, the pine needles 3% and the sweet gum 1. The sweet gum tree kindle edition by allred, katherine. Hybrid sweetgum legend hybrid sweetgum dbh in 14 age 6 mai gr tonsacyr specific gravity age 9 0.
Harvesting chewing gum from the sweetgum bushcraft usa. Spiny seed balls form on the tree and persist through the winter months. If youre going to split sweet gum, using a hydraulic splitter is the best way. Mail order conifer nursery of dwarf and miniature conifers, japanese maples, bonsai, and fairy garden plants. Sweet gum trees stock pictures, royalty free sweet gum.
Can also let it set in log form for several years and use it for overnight logs without bothering to split it. Growing up to 100 feet tall and three feet wide, sweetgum trees thrive along streams and lakes. Cassens, professor and extension wood products specialist department of forestry and natural resources, purdue university, west lafayette, in 47907 sweetgum sweetgum liquidambar styraciflua l. The sweet gum tree, is as its title suggests, such a sweet love story im glad i took the time to read it. An occasional lowhanging branch reveals an active cluster of early leaves and specialized flowers. Sweetgum liquidambar styraciflua is a deciduous tree that grows in the acidic soil of swamps and stream banks in its natural habitat. Deep, glossy green starshaped leaves mark the sweetgum. The tree has a mature height of about 80 feet with distinct, five to sevenlobed, starshaped leaves. A fragrant sap bleeds from the tree when the bark is wounded. Plants profile for liquidambar styraciflua sweetgum. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the.
Actually, it doesnt really split it just tears, shreds and twists its way apart. Sweetgum iforest biogeosciences and forestry sisef. Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word sweet gum tree. It is native to mainland southeast asia and no subspecies are listed in the catalogue of life scaphium affine has culinary and traditional medicinal uses. Tolerates intermittent flooding, moderate drought native range. It is considered a hardwood species with wood weighing 52 pounds per cubic. The genus name, liquidambar, refers to the ambercolored liquid sap, and the species name, styraciflua, means styraxflowing. Some communities have large numbers of sweetgum planted as street trees. Finally figured out the best way to split sweetgum firewood. Download sweet gum tree stock pictures and images in the best photography agency reasonable prices millions of high quality and royaltyfree stock photos and images. The tree is an active member of the flowering plant. Happidaze sweet gum liquidambar styraciflua hapdell in.
Sweet gum tree eat the weeds and other things, too. In scientific nomenclature, the sweet gum tree is called liquidambar styraciflua. Interestingly, sweet gum tea was an herbal treatment for the flu and the cherokee made a tea out of the bark. Does not do well in locations where roots are limited in their development. Slender silhouette sweetgum buy online, best prices. Scaphium affine is a tree species in the family malvaceae, subfamily sterculioideae previously placed in the sterculiaceae and synonyms include sterculia lychnophora hance. Sweetgum grows in a narrow pyramid to a height of 75 feet and. The sweet gum tree creates fireworks in the garden, with starshape leaves that change to fiery hues in fall.
The downside to growing a sweetgum tree is the seed pods. Much of the root system is shallow particularly in its native, moist habitat, but there are deep vertical roots directly beneath the trunk in welldrained and. Five years ago our street was flooded for about a week from back to back hurricanes, and the tree really hasnt been the same since. The lobed palmate leaves turn an outstanding burgundy in the fall. Clearing property of these trees, about 85 trees down so far and about 10 or 15 to go. In english it is known as malva nut tree, or sometimes taiwan sweet gum tree, although these names also apply to the similar scaphium macropodum vietnamese. Liquidambar styraciflua, commonly called sweet gum, is a lowmaintenance deciduous shade tree that is native from connecticut to florida and missouri further south to texas, mexico and central america.
Sweet gum is not a very popular firewood choice for a variety of different reasons. The beautifully glossy, starshaped leaves turn bright red, purple, yellow or orange in the fall usda hardiness zones 6 and 7 and early winter usda hardiness zones 8 and 9. Most of the sweetgum lumber produced today is sapwood with. Nonfruiting american sweetgum trees with no gumballs. Download premium images you cant get anywhere else. Moist, slightly acidic, and moderately coarse to fine soils. Sweet gums liquidambar styraciflua are among the commonest trees in the south, and are found in huge numbers throughout the piedmont and coastal plain of north carolina. A study of seed dormancy and germination in sweetgum liquidambar styraciflua l. The sweet gum tree is a hardy and beautiful specimen ranging from the midwestern to southeastern united states.
Information about sweet gum tree in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. Wells association sweet gums liquidambar styraciflua are among the commonest trees in the south, and are found in huge numbers throughout the piedmont and coastal plain of north carolina. Read online or download the sweet gum tree by katherine allred full pdf ebook. Finally figured out the best way to split sweetgum. The handsome foliage is glossy green spring through summer. American sweetgum liquidambar styraciflua, also known as american storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satinwalnut, starleaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern north america and tropical montane regions of mexico and central america. Alix frenchs strong distinctive narrative voice carried me along into a world of gentile southern living as different from the urban sprawl of london as mars is to the moon. For best results, try splitting the wood when its still green. It is a native american tree from the eastern part of north america. Click on document the sweet gum tree katherine allred. Facts and pretty images of the sweet gum tree gardenerdy.
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