Sweetgum

Sweetgum

Liquidambar styraciflua L.

Description

Sweetgum, or redgum, is a deciduous tree in the sweetgum family (Altingiaceae).   It can reach heights of 50 to 80 feet (maximum 150 feet), and may have a deep or shallow rotted depending upon the drainage¹.   Leaves are alternate on the stem and has a distinctive 5-pointed star shaped leaf with serrated margins and palmate venation and are 4 to 7 inches across7 .  In the fall the leaves turn crimson, red, orange or yellow7 .  Corky ridges may form distinctive wings on either side of the stem.   Its produces male and female flowers on the same tree (monecious).  It is wind pollinated.  The female flowers are in heads that produce a round, prickly ball (gumballs) when mature¹.    It is considered to be shade intolerant¹. 

 

Bark of sweetgum showing large, flat gray ridges and shallow furrows.

Bark of sweetgum.  @ J. Brighton* 2013, Maryland Biodiversity Project8

Twig of sweetgum showing flat ridges of several layers of cork.

Corky ridges on twig of sweetgum. @ B. Hubick* 2016, Maryland Biodiversity Project8

Spring twig of sweetgum showing five-lobed green leaf and a branch of clusters of dark green male flowers.

Leaves and male flowers of sweetgum.  @ Z. Akulova (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0), CalPhoto³

Prickly, ball-shaped fruit of sweetgum. This is a green fruit with each carpel headed by a cone with a hooked spine.

Fruit of sweetgum.  @ K. Morse, 2016 (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0),  CalPhoto6

Distribution

Sweetgum ranges from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas and Arkansas and south into Mexico and Central America 7 .  It is predominately a bottomland species, but can attain high frequency in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Georgia.  In Maryland it is largely restricted to the coastal plain².   Sweetgum is planted worldwide as a street tree.

Map of North America showing the distribution of sweetgum from New Jersey along the Atlantic seaboard to central florida, west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma, northeast across central Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and southwestern West Virginia. Scattered populations are also found in Mexico, Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica.

Native distribution of sweetgum.  Wikimedia8

Wildlife Importance

It is the host plant for luna moth larvae.  Numerous songbirds consume the seeds, in particular the American goldfinch4. 

Economic Importance

Sweetgum is commercially one of the most important hardwood species of the Southeast².   Its wood is used for furniture, cabinets, interior trim, and plywood².  

Threats

Sweetgum is largely resistant to damage, but beavers will girdle the trees and fire may also damage them².  

Interesting Facts

  • The resinous gum produced from the bark was used to make chewing gum4 .  
  • Sweetgum was previously placed in the witch-hazel family (Hamamelidaceae).
  • The Maryland champion sweetgum is in Upper Marlboro with a height of 102 ft and circumference of 209 inches (= 5.5 ft diameter) as measured in 20195.

References

  1. USDA-NRCS Plant Fact Sheet:  Sweetgum
  2. USDA-Forest Service  Silvics Vol. 2  Hardwoods:   Liquidambar styraciflua
  3. CalPhotos:  Liquidambar styraciflua leaves
  4. North Carolina State Extension:  Liquidambar sturaciflua
  5. Maryland State Champion Trees
  6. CalPhotos–Liquidambar styraciflua
  7. Missouri Botanical Garden:  Liquidambar styraciflua
  8. Maryland Biodiversity Project:  Sweet gum

Contributed by J. Hull

* Imaged used with permission of photographer

Towson University Glen Arboretum

Towson University