Biological Name:
Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweetgum)
Natural Habitat:
Sweetgum: Moist, well-drained soil in forests and along rivers and streams in the Eastern and Central United States.
Description:
Sweetgum also known as Liquidambar is a plant that is native to forested and riparian areas of North America. It is a tree that can grow up to 100 feet tall and it has large oval-shaped leaves and small inconspicuous flowers that are typically green or yellow in color. The plant is known for its distinctive star-shaped leaves and it is often used as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscapes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is a sweet gum tree good for anything?
A: Many of the medicinal properties of sweetgum are derived from the resinous sap that exudes when the outer bark of the tree has been damaged. The sap, known as storax, has been used for centuries to treat common ailments such as skin problems, coughs, and ulcers.
Source
Q: Are sweet gum tree roots invasive?
A: Sweet gum roots are highly invasive, often growing near the soil surface and damaging sidewalks, pavements, and other infrastructure. The species also produces prolific hard, round fruits that litter the ground and are often a tripping hazard. Sweet gum trees have attractive fall foliage.
Source
Q: Should I remove sweet gum trees?
A: Their roots compete for soil nutrients and may cause damage to surrounding plants and trees. Killing your sweetgum tree and removing its root system saves gardening time by eliminating gumball litter and damaging property elements, such as your home’s foundation or flowerbeds.
Source
Q: What is the lifespan of a sweet gum tree?
A: Sweet Gum trees are large deciduous trees with beautiful ovular/oval shape. They are long lived, with ages reaching 100-150 years old. Once a tree reaches 20-30 years in age it will start producing seed pods.
Source
Q: Do squirrels eat sweet gum balls?
A: Sweet gum balls start out plump and green, but they dry as they mature. The spines become even spinier, and holes open up to reveal seeds inside the balls. These seeds are food for about 25 species of birds, chipmunks and squirrels, says Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Source
Q: Do sweet gum trees smell good?
A: They are vigorous shade trees from the southeastern United States with star-shaped leaves that smell sweetly resinous if scratched. From the leaf shape you might think it a maple, except that no maple can match the sweet odor.
Source
Q: Are sweetgum trees messy?
A: While some people find these fruits ornamental, most dislike them for the mess they cause when they drop. If you’d like to avoid the mess, look for the non-fruiting cultivar, Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Rotundiloba’.
Source
Q: Is sweet gum fruit edible?
A: Are sweetgum tree balls edible? While they’re not edible, the balls can double as spiky mulch to keep animals away from young plants. You can even get creative and use them to make holiday trinkets or decorative balls for bowls.
Source
Q: Who eats sweet gum balls?
A: Male red-winged blackbirds have distinctive red markings on their wings, called coverts, while the females are brown and very sparrow like. That day, I learned that blackbirds are more than willing to eat the fruit of the sweet gum tree, those annoying spiky balls you step on when you’re barefoot in your backyard!
Source
Q: Is there a difference between a gum tree and a sweet gum tree?
A: Black Tupelo or Nyssa sylvatica is the most common true gum in North America and grows from Canada to Texas. Another common tree that is called a “gum”” is sweetgum and is actually an entirely different tree species classification called Liquidambar. The fruit and leaves of sweetgum look nothing like these true gums.”
Source
Q: Is Tamiflu made from sweet gum?
A: The infertile seeds found in each of the sweet gum’s compound seed capsules are a naturally occurring source of shikimic acid, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of Tamiflu.
Source
Q: Why do they call it sweet gum?
A: The name sweetgum comes from the Native Americans who would peel back the bark, scrape off the resin, and chew the resin as one would chew gum. Phenology: From late March to early April, the flowers, fruits and leaves emerge.
Source
Q: Is a sweet gum tree a good tree?
A: Sweet Gum trees are commonly used as ornamental trees, and/or landscaping. They are tall with a lovely ovular shape, commonly reaching heights of 70 feet or more. The height and shape make them great shade trees and beautiful additions to landscape.
Source
Q: Are sweet gum trees messy?
A: While some people find these fruits ornamental, most dislike them for the mess they cause when they drop. If you’d like to avoid the mess, look for the non-fruiting cultivar, Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Rotundiloba’.
Source
Q: How quickly do sweet gum trees grow?
A: Growth Rate This tree grows at a medium to fast rate, with height increases of anywhere from 13″ to more than 24″” per year.”
Source
Q: What does sweetgum taste like?
A: The only edible part of the tree is the dried sap which makes a fragrant, bitter chewing gum. Despite its name the gum is not sweet. It’s called Sweet Gum to separate it from a different species altogether, the Black Gum, Nyssa sylvatica, which is extremely sour and bitter.
Source
Q: Are sweet gum balls worth anything?
A: Prices vary, but you can get as much as $20 for 100 sweet gum balls. Hopefully, this has given you some ideas on how to make a little extra money, easily maintain a clean yard, and put those sweet gum balls to good use.
Source
Q: Is sweetgum good for walking sticks?
A: Brazos Walking Sticks Free Form Sweet Gum Wood Walking Stick With its strength and relative light weight, sweet gum makes for an ideal walking staff.
Source
Q: Can you make syrup from sweet gum trees?
A: And if you’re looking for a reward for all those nasty gum balls you have to pick up every year, even sweet gum trees can be a “surprising supplier of sweet syrup-producing sap,†according to Desiree Munn on her blog, Cooking Wild and Free.
Source
Q: What is inside a sweet gum ball?
A: Seed collection: Sweetgum fruit is an aggregate of small 2-celled capsules that from a spiked ball. Inside each capsule are one or two small winged seeds. 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.
Source
Q: Does sweetgum burn good?
A: Sweet Gum burns good when dry, like most other types of hardwood. It produces up to 20.6 million BTU per cord, which is better than the average for burning. Although the wood burns quickly, mixing it with other hardwoods will give you better results.
Source
