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American Sweetgum

Liquidambar styraciflua

Summary 4

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. The leaves are three to seven inches broad with glandular serrate teeth. The base is truncate or slightly heart-shaped. he fruit is a multicapsular spherical head and hangs on the branches during the winter. The long-stemmed fruit balls of Liquidambar resemble those of the American sycamore or buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis), but are spiny and remain intact after their seeds are dispersed; the softer fruits of Platanus disintegrate upon seed dispersal.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Mohamed Rezk, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A20-2-Liquidambar_styraciflua_(American_Sweetgum).JPG
  2. (c) JLPC, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liquidambar_feuilles_FR_2013.jpg
  3. (c) Phil Bendle, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Phil Bendle
  4. Adapted by laearthwatch from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidambar_styraciflua

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