SKU: TL00460

Liquidambar styraciflua - Sweetgum is a large, long-lived deciduous canopy tree that will reach heights of 50-150 ft. Its wood is used for lumber, veneer, and plywood. Sweetgum is known for its fall color of bright red to crimson and its gumballs which contain seeds eaten by birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.

Height: 50-150'
Spread: 40-60'
Zone: 5-9
Soil type: deep, moist, fertile soils, but seems to tolerate a wide variety
Soil pH: intolerant of alkaline soils
Light: Full sun, intolerant of shade
Moisture: Medium
Flowers: Yellow-green, not showy, in April-May
Fruit: Gum balls which persist through the winter. Hard spiky balls can cause cleanup problems in pedestrian areas.
Fall color: Bright red to crimson

Wildlife value: Sweetgum has moderate value for winter browse by white-tailed deer and the seeds are eaten by birds, squirrels and chipmunks.
Notes of Interest: Liquidambar styraciflua was well known as a medicinal plant by Native Americans. Cherokee, Choctaw, Houma, Koasati, and Rappahannock tribes used it in various ways, especially the gum, bark, and root, as an antidiarrheal, dermatological aid, gynecological aid, sedative, febrifuge, and for related uses (D. E. Moerman 1986). Liquidambar styraciflua produces a resin called storax, which has an aromatic odor. It is chewed as a sweet, natural gum. It is used in soaps and cosmetics, as a fixative in perfumes, adhesives, lacquers, and incense, and as a flavoring in tobacco. The wood is used for cabinet making, furniture, veneer, interior finish, barrels, and wooden dishes. Medicinally the gum has been used for catarrh, coughs, dysentery, sores, and wounds of both humans and domestic animals.