American Sweetgum (TVA, White's Creek Small Wild Area, Plants)

American Sweetgum

Liquidambar styraciflua

Summary ²

Liquidambar styraciflua, commonly called the American sweetgum, sweet-gum (sweet gum in the UK),alligator-wood,American-storax,bilsted,red-gum,satin-walnut, or star-leaved gum, 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. A popular ornamental tree in temperate climates, it is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves and its hard, spiked fruits. It is currently classified in the plant family Altingiaceae, but was...

Associated forest cover ³

Sweetgum is a major component of four forest cover types (6): Pin Oak-Sweetgum (Society of American Foresters Type 65), Sweetgum-Willow Oak (Type 92), Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm (Type 94), and Sweetgum-Yellow-Poplar (Type 87). It is a minor component of at least 20 other cover types including Chestnut Oak (Type 44), White Oak-Black Oak-Northern Red Oak (Type 52), Black Oak (Type 110), Yellow-Poplar (Type 57), River Birch-Sycamore (Type 61), Silver Maple-American Elm (Type 62), Sassafras-Persimmon (Type 64), Longleaf Pine (Type70), Longleaf Pine-Slash Pine (Type 83), Shortleaf Pine (Type 75), Virginia Pine (Type 79), Loblolly Pine (Type 81), Loblolly Pine-Shortleaf Pine (Type 80), Pond Pine (Type 98), Willow Oak-Water Oak-Diamondleaf Oak (Type 88), Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash (Type 93), Baldcypress Tupelo (Type 102), Water Tupelo-Swamp Tupelo (Type 103), Sweetbay-Swamp Tupelo-Redbay ('Type 104), and Cabbage Palmetto (Type 74).

Among the most common associated tree species are red maple (Acer rubrum), boxelder (A. negundo), river birch (Betula nigra), pignut, shellbark, shagbark, and mockernut hickories (Carya glabra, C. laciniosa, C. ovata, C. tomentosa), sugarberry (Celtis laevigata), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), and loblolly pine (P.taeda). Several species of dogwood (Cornus) and alder (Alnus), as well as eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), commonly occur as understory species with sweetgum.

Biology ⁴

Liquidambar styraciflua is a medium sized tree that grows to a maximum height of 40m, though more commonly 30m.The species is easily identifiable by a number of characters.Leaf shape:

leaves are alternately arranged and up to 10cm across with 5–7 deep lobes lending a star-like appearance to them
they turn deep purple, red and yellow in the autumn, which make the tree a favourite for ornamental planting
the species is generally considered to be deciduous although occasionally, particularly in the southern part of its range, it may be semi-evergreen with little leaf fall

Fruit:

the prickly fruits are round in shape and often stay on the tree for some time

Bark:

the tree has grey-brown fissured bark and stout brown twigs, often with cork-like wings

The species is monoecious - male and female flowers are found separately on the same tree. The flowers however, are relatively inconspicuous.Liquidambar is sometimes confused with maples and plane trees. However, it can be distinguished from the maple by its leaves that are opposite rather than alternate. It can be distinguished from the plane tree by having fruits held singly rather than in bunches, and by the lack of peeling bark.

Distribution ecology ⁵

Liquidambar styraciflua is common throughout the eastern United States and ranges from Connecticut in the north to Florida in the south, and from Texas in the west to Illinois in the east.The species also ranges down through Central America, possibly as far south as El Salvador, but certainly as far as Guatemala, Belize and Mexico.It is usually found growing at low elevations in the United States, but at higher altitudes in Central America, often in association with high level pine and oak forest.Liquidambar styracifluais a fast growing tree most commonly found growing in moist alluvial soils and swampy woodlands. It can tolerate a wide range of soil types, but fails to thrive in shallow chalky soils.

Importance to livestock and wildlife ⁶

Sweetgum has moderate value as a winter browse [5]. In the Oconee
National Forest of Georgia, sweetgum was lightly to moderately browsed
by white-tailed deer during the fall and winter [19]. The seeds are
eaten by birds, squirrels, and chipmunks [33].

Sources and Credits

(c) TreesOfTheWorld.net, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/15907391@N00/294555705
Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidambar_styraciflua
(c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22778707
(c) Natural History Museum, London, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/12496419
(c) Natural History Museum, London, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/12496420
Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24253541

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