Liquidambar styraciflua
sweetgum
Sweetgum is sometimes called redgum, probably because of the red color of the older heartwood and its red fall leaves. Sweetgum grows from Connecticut southward throughout the East to central Florida and eastern Texas and is a very common commercial species of the South. Sweetgum is easy to identify in both summer and in winter. Look for the star-shaped leaf as foliage grows in the Spring and look for the dried seed balls under the tree (see illustration).
Start with the Tree Finder if you are not sure what kind of tree you have!
Sweetgum Habitat and Culture
(silvics courtesy of, USFS)
Fire Effects On Sweetgum
(courtesy of U.S. Forest Service, Fire Effects)
From Virginia Tech w/Photos
(Big List courtesy of VT Dendrology)
North American Timber Types
(courtesy About Forestry)
The Great American Hardwood Forest
(courtesy About Forestry)
Recent Champion: 136' height, 66' spread, 23' circumf., Craven County, NC
National Register of Big Trees
Sweetgum Images
(courtesy of ForestryImages.org)
Buy a Sweetgum Online
(Nurseries selling seedlings online)
Range Map
-The native range of sweetgum, USFS.
Quick Stats
Common Names: redgum, sapgum, starleaf-gum, or bilsted
Habitat: Common bottom-land species of the South where it grows biggest and is most abundant in the lower Mississippi Valley
Description: Rapidly growing tree often pioneers in old fields and logged areas in the uplands and Coastal Plain and may develop in a nearly pure stand
Uses: Sweetgum is one of the most important commercial hardwoods in the Southeast and the handsome hard wood is put to a great many uses, one of which is veneer for plywood
Image Image1
(images courtesy of Steve Nix and Forestry About.com))
