Difference between revisions of "American Sweetgum"

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{{SPlantbox
 
{{SPlantbox
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|familia=Altingiaceae
 
|genus=Liquidambar
 
|genus=Liquidambar
 
|species=styraciflua
 
|species=styraciflua
 
|common_name=American Sweetgum
 
|common_name=American Sweetgum
 +
|habit=tree
 
|Min ht metric=cm
 
|Min ht metric=cm
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|lifespan=perennial
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|features=deciduous, fall color
 
|Temp Metric=°F
 
|Temp Metric=°F
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|image=Upload.png
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|image=Sweetgum2.jpg
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|image_width=240
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|image_width=180
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Inc|
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'''''Liquidambar styraciflua''''' ('''American Sweetgum''', '''Redgum''') is a [[deciduous]] [[tree]] in the genus [[sweetgum|''Liquidambar'']] native to warm temperate areas of eastern [[North America]]. A popular ornamental tree in North America, it is recognizable from its combination of five-pointed star-shaped leaves and spiked fruit.
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Liquidambar styraciflua, Linn. Sweet Gum. Bilsted. Alligator Tree. Fig. 2182. Tree, 60-140 ft. high: lvs. 5-7- lobed, with acuminate, finely serrate lobes, lustrous and dark green above, paler below and glabrous except large tufts of pale rufous hairs in the axils of the principal veins, 3—7 in. across; petioles 5-6 in. long: fr. 1-1½ in. across. March-May. Conn, and S. N. Y to Fla., I11., Mo. and Mex. S.S. 5:199. G.F. 2:235. P.G. 3:111. G.C. II. 14:633. Mn. 4:117. Gn. 24, pp. 166, 167; 38, p. 208. F.S.R. 3, p. 85. F.E. 18, p. 90.
 
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}}
 
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{{Taxobox
 
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| color = lightgreen
 
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| name = American Sweetgum
 
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| status = LR/lc
 
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| image = Sweetgum2.jpg
 
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| image_width = 240px
 
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| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
 
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| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
 
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| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
 
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| ordo = [[Saxifragales]]
 
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| familia = [[Hamamelidaceae]]
 
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| genus = ''[[sweetgum|Liquidambar]]''
 
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| species = '''''L. styraciflua'''''
 
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| binomial = ''Liquidambar styraciflua''
 
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| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
 
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| range_map = Liquid Amber Range.png
 
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| range_map_width = 240px
 
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| range_map_caption = Range
 
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}}
 
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'''American Sweetgum''' (''Liquidambar styraciflua''), also known as '''Redgum''', is a [[deciduous]] [[tree]] in the genus [[sweetgum|''Liquidambar'']] native to warm temperate areas of eastern [[North America]].
 
  
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==Description==
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[[Image:American Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua Fruit Context 2500px.jpg|left|thumb||Autumn foliage and fruit]]
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[[Image:Liquidambar-styraciflua-fruit.jpg|left|thumb|Immature "monkey ball" showing the paired capsule spikes]]
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It is a medium-sized to large tree, growing to 20-35 m (exceptionally 41 m) tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The [[leaf|leaves]] are palmately lobed, 7-19 cm (rarely to 25 cm) long and broad and with a 6-10 cm petiole, looking somewhat similar to those of some [[maple]]s. They have five sharply pointed lobes, but are easily distinguished from maples in being glossy and leathery in appearance, and arranged alternately, not in opposite pairs. They are a rich dark green and glossy, and in most cases turn brilliant orange, red, and purple colors in the autumn. A small percentage of trees are [[evergreen]] or semi-evergreen, with negligible fall color, especially in the extreme southern part of its range.  In the northern part of its range, as well as in colder areas that it has been planted in, the leaves are often killed by frost while still green.  The roots are fibrous; juices are balsamic.
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It is a medium-sized to large tree, growing to 20-35 m (exceptionally 41 m) tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The [[leaf|leaves]] are palmately lobed, 7-19 cm (rarely to 25 cm) long and broad and with a 6-10 cm petiole, looking somewhat similar to those of some [[maple]]s. They have five sharply-pointed lobes, but are easily distinguished from maples in being arranged alternately, not in opposite pairs. They are a rich dark green and glossy, and in most cases turn brilliant orange, red and purple colors in the [[autumn]]. A small percentage of trees are [[evergreen]] or semi-evergreen, with negligible fall color.  The roots are fibrous; juices are balsamic.
 
  
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The starry five-pointed leaves of the Liquidambar suggest the [[Sugar Maple]], and its fruit balls as they hang upon their long stems resemble those of the [[Buttonwood]].  The distinguishing mark of the tree, however, is the peculiar appearance of its small branches and twigs.  The bark attaches itself to these in plates edgewise instead of laterally, and a piece of the leafless branch with the aid of a little imagination readily takes on a reptilian form; indeed, the tree is sometimes called '''Alligator-wood'''.<ref name=Keeler>{{cite book
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The starry five-pointed leaves of the Liquidambar suggest the [[Sugar Maple]], and its fruit balls as they hang upon their long stems resemble those of the [[American sycamore|Buttonwood]].  The distinguishing mark of the tree, however, is the peculiar appearance of its small branches and twigs.  The bark attaches itself to these in plates edgewise instead of laterally, and a piece of the leafless branch with the aid of a little imagination readily takes on a reptilian form; indeed, the tree is sometimes called ''Alligator-wood''.
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  | last =Keeler
 
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  | first =Harriet L.
 
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  | title =Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them
 
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  | publisher =Charles Scriber's Sons
 
−
  | date =1900
 
−
  | location =New York
 
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  | pages =160-164 }}</ref>
 
  
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The male and female [[inflorescences]] are on different branches of the same tree. The [[fruit]], popularly nick-named a "monkey ball", "bir ball, "gum ball" or "sticker ball", is a hard, dry, globose, compound fruit 2.5-4 cm in diameter and composed of numerous (20-50) [[capsule (fruit)|capsules]]. Each capsule has a pair of terminal spikes, and contains one to two small [[seed]]s.
+
The male and female [[inflorescences]] are on different branches of the same tree. The [[fruit]], popularly nick-named a "space bug", "monkey ball", "bommyknocker", "bir ball", "gumball" "cukoo-bir" or "sticky ball", is a hard, dry, globose, compound fruit 2.5-4&nbsp;cm in diameter and composed of numerous (40-60) [[capsule (fruit)|capsules]]. Each capsule has a pair of terminal spikes (for a total of 80-120 spikes), and each capsule contains one to two small [[seed]]s. When the fruit opens and the seeds are released, each capsule is associated with a small hole (40-60 of these) in the compound fruit.
  
 
The autumnal coloring is not simply a flame, it is a conflagration; in reds and yellows it equals the maples, and in addition it has the dark purples and smoky browns of the ash.<ref name=Keeler />
 
The autumnal coloring is not simply a flame, it is a conflagration; in reds and yellows it equals the maples, and in addition it has the dark purples and smoky browns of the ash.<ref name=Keeler />
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* Wood: Bright reddish brown, sapwood nearly white; heavy, straight, satiny, close-grained, not strong; will take a beautiful polish; warps badly in drying.  Has been used with good results in the interior finish of sleeping-cars and fine houses.  The wood is usually cut in veneers and backed up with some other variety which shrinks and warps less.  Sp. gr., 0.5910; weight of cu. ft., 36.83 lbs.
 
* Wood: Bright reddish brown, sapwood nearly white; heavy, straight, satiny, close-grained, not strong; will take a beautiful polish; warps badly in drying.  Has been used with good results in the interior finish of sleeping-cars and fine houses.  The wood is usually cut in veneers and backed up with some other variety which shrinks and warps less.  Sp. gr., 0.5910; weight of cu. ft., 36.83 lbs.
 
* Winter buds: Yellow brown, one-fourth of an inch long, acute.  The inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot, becoming half an inch long, green tipped with red.
 
* Winter buds: Yellow brown, one-fourth of an inch long, acute.  The inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot, becoming half an inch long, green tipped with red.
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* Leaves: Alternate, three to five inches long, three to seven inches broad, lobed, so as to make a star-shaped leaf of five to seven divisions, thse divisions acutely pointed, with glandular serrate teeth.  The base is truncate or slightly heart-shaped.  They come out of th ebud plicate, downy, pale green, when full grown are bright green, smooth, shining above, paler beneath.  In autumn they vary in color from yellow through crimson to purple.  They contain tannin and when bruised give a resinous fragrance.  Petioles long, slender, terete.  Stipules lanceolate, acute, caducous.
+
* Leaves: Alternate, three to five inches long, three to seven inches broad, lobed, so as to make a star-shaped leaf of five to seven divisions, these divisions acutely pointed, with glandular serrate teeth.  The base is truncate or slightly heart-shaped.  They come out of the bud plicate, downy, pale green, when full grown are bright green, smooth, shining above, paler beneath.  In autumn they vary in color from yellow through crimson to purple.  They contain tannin and when bruised give a resinous fragrance.  Petioles long, slender, terete.  Stipules lanceolate, acute, caducous.
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* Flowers: March to May, when leaves are half grown; monoecious, greenish.  Staminate flowers in terminal racemes two to three inches long, covered with rusty hairs; the pistillate in a solitary head on a slender peduncle borne in the axil of an upper leaf.  Staminate flowers destitute of calyx and corolla, but surrouned by hairy bracts.  Stamens indefinite; filaments short; anthers introrse.  Pistillate flowers with a two-celled, two-beaked ovary, the carpels produced into a long, recurved, persistent style.  The ovaries all more or less cohere and harden in fruit.  Ovules many but few mature.
+
* Flowers: March to May, when leaves are half grown; monoecious, greenish.  Staminate flowers in terminal racemes two to three inches long, covered with rusty hairs; the pistillate in a solitary head on a slender peduncle borne in the axil of an upper leaf.  Staminate flowers destitute of calyx and corolla, but surrounded by hairy bracts.  Stamens indefinite; filaments short; anthers introrse.  Pistillate flowers with a two-celled, two-beaked ovary, the carpels produced into a long, recurved, persistent style.  The ovaries all more or less cohere and harden in fruit.  Ovules many but few mature.
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* Fruit: Multicapsular spherical head, an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, hangs on the branches during the winter.  The woody capsules mostly filled with abortive seeds resembling sawdust.<ref name=Keeler />
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* Fruit: Multicapsular spherical head, an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, hangs on the branches during the winter.  The woody capsules mostly filled with abortive seeds resembling sawdust.
  
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==Distribution==
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{{Inc|
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Sweetgum is one of the most common southern [[hardwoods]]. It occurs in the [[United States]] from southern [[New York]] west to southern [[Missouri]] and east [[Texas]] and south to central [[Florida]], and in [[Mexico]] from southern [[Nuevo León]] south to [[Chiapas]], as well as in [[Guatemala]]. In the United States it occurs at low to moderate altitudes, while in Mexico and Guatemala it grows at high altitudes in mountains where the climate is more temperate.
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Liquidambar styraciflua, Linn. Sweet Gum. Bilsted. Alligator Tree. Fig. 2182. Tree, 60-140 ft. high: lvs. 5-7- lobed, with acuminate, finely serrate lobes, lustrous and dark green above, paler below and glabrous except large tufts of pale rufous hairs in the axils of the principal veins, 3—7 in. across; petioles 5-6 in. long: fr. 1-1½ in. across. March-May. Conn, and S. N. Y to Fla., I11., Mo. and Mex.
 +
}}
  
 
==Cultivation==
 
==Cultivation==
−
As well as in its native area, it has been introduced to many parts of the world, including [[Argentina]], [[Australia]], [[Brazil]], [[Chile]], [[Europe]], [[Hawaii]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], [[Uruguay]] and [[Zimbabwe]]. In the [[United States]], it is especially popular in [[California]], where it has escaped from cultivation. In [[Florida]], it is sold at least as far south as [[Lake Worth, Florida|Lake Worth]]. In [[Canada]], it is commonly cultivated in cities of western [[British Columbia]] such as [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]] and [[Vancouver]]. It also grows well at [[Toronto]] and [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]]. Farther east, it grows as a root-hardy [[shrub]] in [[Ottawa]] and [[Montreal]]. It grows best in moist, acidic [[loam]] or [[clay]] [[soil]], and tolerates poor drainage. Salt tolerance is moderate. [[Chlorosis]] can develop on alkaline soil, especially where organic matter is low.
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<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
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===Selected cultivars===
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===Propagation===
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<!--- Type propagation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
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===Pests and diseases===
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==Cultivars==
 +
[[Image:Liquidambar-styraciflua-ripen-fruit.jpg|thumb|Mature "monkey ball" after seed dispersal]]
 +
Selected cultivars:
 
* 'Burgundy' – dark red to purple fall colors may persist through winter.
 
* 'Burgundy' – dark red to purple fall colors may persist through winter.
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* 'Clydesform' - sold as Emerald Sentinel®; columnar or narrowly pyramidal; slow growth to 9 meters; yellow-orange fall colors.
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* 'Clydesform' - sold as Emerald Sentinel; columnar or narrowly pyramidal; slow growth to 9 meters; yellow-orange fall colors.
 
* 'Festival' – columnar; pale green summer leaves; bright fall hues of yellow, pink and red; less hardy than most.
 
* 'Festival' – columnar; pale green summer leaves; bright fall hues of yellow, pink and red; less hardy than most.
 
* 'Goduzam' (Gold Dust) – variegated; pink to red-purple in fall.
 
* 'Goduzam' (Gold Dust) – variegated; pink to red-purple in fall.
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* 'Palo Alto' – various shades of red in fall; best in California.
 
* 'Palo Alto' – various shades of red in fall; best in California.
 
* 'Parasol' – develops rounded crown; mature height 10 meters; deep red fall color.
 
* 'Parasol' – develops rounded crown; mature height 10 meters; deep red fall color.
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* 'Rotundiloba' – sterile cultivar with rounded lobes on leaves.
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* 'Rotundiloba' – sterile cultivar with rounded lobes on leaves. Originally discovered in North Carolina in the 1930s.
 
* 'Slender Silhouette' - very narrow columnar form.
 
* 'Slender Silhouette' - very narrow columnar form.
 
* 'Worplesdon' – cutleaf cultivar with orange, red and purple fall colors.
 
* 'Worplesdon' – cutleaf cultivar with orange, red and purple fall colors.
  
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===Germination===
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==Gallery==
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Hi Susana, I have a passion for Liquidambar germination as I choose seed-raised individuals that perform locally well (for autumn/fall colour) in our sub-tropical climate. Excellent results achieved. When seeds available in autumn/winter, keep fresh seed in paper bag in fridge until spring. As I collect my seeds from cooler districts in southern Australia areas, I can plant straight away in my warmer climate in July/August, no problems. (Alternatively plant out in Spring when days lengthen/warm up if you experience severe/classic cold winters). I soak my fresh seeds for 24 hours in room-temperature water in bottle or plastic bag etc before sowing, then sow lighly in superior quality commercially available seed-raising mix. Bury sweetgum seeds only lightly into mix. (ie. pour solution of water and seeds into seed tray full of seed raising mixture and then sprinkle lightly with additional seed raising mix, contained in the fist of your hand, until seeds are covered. Allow 1.5-2.5 weeks for germination. If you want to delay germination until you're ready to do so, keep seeds fresh in refrigerator until convenient time. Hope this helps, all the best & cheers! From Jirrus, Australia.
 
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==Uses==
 
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American Sweetgum is a popular [[ornamental tree]], grown for its intense fall colors, but it also has some drawbacks:
 
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* The wood is brittle and the tree drops branches easily in storms.
 
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* The spiked "gumballs" can be unpleasant to walk on, and their profusion can smother a lawn unless removed.
 
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* Branches may have ridges or "wings" that cause more surface area, increasing weight of snow and ice accumlation on the tree.
 
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[[Image:Liquidambar-styraciflua-ripen-fruit.jpg|thumb|Mature "monkey ball" of after seed dispersal]]
 
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The [[wood]] is very compact and fine-grained, the [[heartwood]] being reddish, and, when cut into planks, marked transversely with blackish belts; it is used for [[veneer]] and [[pulpwood]], but is poor for [[timber]] or [[fuel]]. Being readily dyed black, it is sometimes used instead of ebony for picture frames, and other similar uses, but it is too liable to decay for outdoor work.
 
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The gum resin, also known as '''liquid amber''' or '''copalm balsam''', yielded by this tree has no special medicinal virtues, being inferior in therapeutic properties to many others of its class. It is a kind of native [[balsam]], or resin, like [[turpentine]]. It may be clear, reddish or yellow, with a pleasant smell like [[ambergris]]. As it grows older, it hardens into a solid form, which historically was shipped to other countries in barrels. It was reputed an excellent balsam for mollifying and consolidating, and good against [[sciatica]], weakness of the nerves, etc. Mixed with [[tobacco]], the gum was once used for smoking at the court of the Mexican emperors. It was long used in [[France]] as a perfume for gloves and other such items. It is mainly produced in Mexico, little being obtained from trees growing in higher latitudes of North America, or in England.
 
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An American Sweetgum will be featured as part of the Memorial Grove at the [[World Trade Center Memorial]], with installation set for fall 2008 and spring 2009 [http://www.renewnyc.com/displaynews.aspx?newsid=78d2035b-01cc-436e-b1cd-885cfb8e8989].
 
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==History==
 
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The earliest record of the tree appears to be in a Spanish work by F. Hernandez, published in 1651, in which he describes it as a large tree producing a fragrant gum resembling liquid amber, whence the name. In Ray's ''Historia Plantarum'' (1686) it is called ''Styrax liquida''. It was introduced into Europe in 1681 by John Banister, the missionary collector sent out by Bishop Compton, who planted it in the palace gardens at [[Fulham]].
 
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The tree's immediate ancestor inhabited in tertiary times Alaska, Greenland and the mid-continental plateau of North America, a similar form is also found in the miocene in Europe.<ref name=Keeler />
 
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==References and external links==
 
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{{commons|Liquidambar styraciflua}}
 
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{{reflist}}
 
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* {{IUCN2006|assessors=Americas Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Costa Rica, November 1996)|year=1998|id=33966|title=Liquidambar styraciflua|downloaded=12 May 2006}}
 
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*''Flora of North America'': [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=118701 genus account] and [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220007687 species account]
 
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*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/list2.htm ''Liquidambar styraciflua'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
 
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{{1728}}
 
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*[http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/liqustyr.pdf USGS: ''Liquidambar styraciflua'' distribution map] (pdf file).
 
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<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
Image:Liquidambar_styraciflua01.jpg|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' summer foliage cluster
 
Image:Liquidambar_styraciflua01.jpg|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' summer foliage cluster
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Image:Starr 051105 8380 liquidambar styraciflua.jpg|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' foliage
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Image:Liquidambar-styraciflua-fruit.jpg|''Immature "monkey ball" showing the paired capsule spikes
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Image:Gumbark8345.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' Mature bark of American Sweetgum [[Hemingway, South Carolina]]
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Image:Gumbark8345.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua Mature bark of American Sweetgum [[Hemingway, South Carolina]]
 
Image:Starr 051105 8369 liquidambar styraciflua.jpg|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' cultivated at [[Keokea, Maui|Keokea]], [[Maui]], [[Hawaii]]
 
Image:Starr 051105 8369 liquidambar styraciflua.jpg|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' cultivated at [[Keokea, Maui|Keokea]], [[Maui]], [[Hawaii]]
 
Image:Liquidambar styraciflua leaves sjh.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' leaves. [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], [[Texas]].
 
Image:Liquidambar styraciflua leaves sjh.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' leaves. [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], [[Texas]].
 
Image:Liquidambar styraciflua sjh.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' at the [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], [[Texas]].
 
Image:Liquidambar styraciflua sjh.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' at the [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], [[Texas]].
 +
Image:CopalmeDAmerique.jpg|American sweetgum taken in autumn at the parc de Rentilly, [[France]].
 +
Image:Liquidambar styraciflua bloom.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' bloom at Clear Creek Park in Crawford County, Arkansas
 +
Image:American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) Early Fall, West Point, NY.JPG|''Liquidambar styraciflua'' in early fall colors at [[United States Military Academy| West Point, NY]]
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
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[[Category:Saxifragales|Sweetgum, American]]
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==References==
 +
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
 +
<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
 +
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
 +
<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->
  
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[[Category:Trees of Southeastern United States|Sweetgum, American]]
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==External links==
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[[Category:Trees of Eastern Texas|Sweetgum, American]]
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*{{wplink}}
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[[Category:Trees of Oklahoma|Sweetgum, American]]
 
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[[Category:Trees of Florida|Sweetgum, American]] <!-- Most of Florida, as opposed to the continental trees of "Trees of Northern Florida" -->
 
  
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[[Category:Trees of Belize|Sweetgum, American]]
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{{stub}}
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[[Category:Trees of Guatemala|Sweetgum, American]]
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__NOTOC__
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[[Category:Trees of Honduras|Sweetgum, American]]
 
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[[Category:Trees of Nicaragua|Sweetgum, American]]
 
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[[Category:Trees of Southern Mexico|Sweetgum, American]]
 
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[[Category:Trees of Chiapas|Sweetgum, American]]
 
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[[Category:Trees of Hidalgo|Sweetgum, American]]
 
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[[Category:Trees of Oaxaca|Sweetgum, American]]
 
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[[Category:Trees of Veracruz|Sweetgum, American]]
 

Revision as of 00:47, 12 December 2009


Sweetgum2.jpg


Plant Characteristics
Habit   tree

Lifespan: ⌛ perennial
Cultivation
Features: ✓ deciduous, fall color
Scientific Names

Altingiaceae >

Liquidambar >

styraciflua >


Liquidambar styraciflua (American Sweetgum, Redgum) is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America. A popular ornamental tree in North America, it is recognizable from its combination of five-pointed star-shaped leaves and spiked fruit.

Autumn foliage and fruit

It is a medium-sized to large tree, growing to 20-35 m (exceptionally 41 m) tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are palmately lobed, 7-19 cm (rarely to 25 cm) long and broad and with a 6-10 cm petiole, looking somewhat similar to those of some maples. They have five sharply pointed lobes, but are easily distinguished from maples in being glossy and leathery in appearance, and arranged alternately, not in opposite pairs. They are a rich dark green and glossy, and in most cases turn brilliant orange, red, and purple colors in the autumn. A small percentage of trees are evergreen or semi-evergreen, with negligible fall color, especially in the extreme southern part of its range. In the northern part of its range, as well as in colder areas that it has been planted in, the leaves are often killed by frost while still green. The roots are fibrous; juices are balsamic.

The starry five-pointed leaves of the Liquidambar suggest the Sugar Maple, and its fruit balls as they hang upon their long stems resemble those of the Buttonwood. The distinguishing mark of the tree, however, is the peculiar appearance of its small branches and twigs. The bark attaches itself to these in plates edgewise instead of laterally, and a piece of the leafless branch with the aid of a little imagination readily takes on a reptilian form; indeed, the tree is sometimes called Alligator-wood.

The male and female inflorescences are on different branches of the same tree. The fruit, popularly nick-named a "space bug", "monkey ball", "bommyknocker", "bir ball", "gumball" "cukoo-bir" or "sticky ball", is a hard, dry, globose, compound fruit 2.5-4 cm in diameter and composed of numerous (40-60) capsules. Each capsule has a pair of terminal spikes (for a total of 80-120 spikes), and each capsule contains one to two small seeds. When the fruit opens and the seeds are released, each capsule is associated with a small hole (40-60 of these) in the compound fruit.

The autumnal coloring is not simply a flame, it is a conflagration; in reds and yellows it equals the maples, and in addition it has the dark purples and smoky browns of the ash.[1]

  • Bark: Light brown tinged with red, deeply fissured, ridges scaly. Branchlets pithy, many-angled, winged, at first covered with rusty hairs, finally becoming red brown, gray or dark brown.
  • Wood: Bright reddish brown, sapwood nearly white; heavy, straight, satiny, close-grained, not strong; will take a beautiful polish; warps badly in drying. Has been used with good results in the interior finish of sleeping-cars and fine houses. The wood is usually cut in veneers and backed up with some other variety which shrinks and warps less. Sp. gr., 0.5910; weight of cu. ft., 36.83 lbs.
  • Winter buds: Yellow brown, one-fourth of an inch long, acute. The inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot, becoming half an inch long, green tipped with red.
  • Leaves: Alternate, three to five inches long, three to seven inches broad, lobed, so as to make a star-shaped leaf of five to seven divisions, these divisions acutely pointed, with glandular serrate teeth. The base is truncate or slightly heart-shaped. They come out of the bud plicate, downy, pale green, when full grown are bright green, smooth, shining above, paler beneath. In autumn they vary in color from yellow through crimson to purple. They contain tannin and when bruised give a resinous fragrance. Petioles long, slender, terete. Stipules lanceolate, acute, caducous.
  • Flowers: March to May, when leaves are half grown; monoecious, greenish. Staminate flowers in terminal racemes two to three inches long, covered with rusty hairs; the pistillate in a solitary head on a slender peduncle borne in the axil of an upper leaf. Staminate flowers destitute of calyx and corolla, but surrounded by hairy bracts. Stamens indefinite; filaments short; anthers introrse. Pistillate flowers with a two-celled, two-beaked ovary, the carpels produced into a long, recurved, persistent style. The ovaries all more or less cohere and harden in fruit. Ovules many but few mature.
  • Fruit: Multicapsular spherical head, an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, hangs on the branches during the winter. The woody capsules mostly filled with abortive seeds resembling sawdust.


Read about American Sweetgum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Liquidambar styraciflua, Linn. Sweet Gum. Bilsted. Alligator Tree. Fig. 2182. Tree, 60-140 ft. high: lvs. 5-7- lobed, with acuminate, finely serrate lobes, lustrous and dark green above, paler below and glabrous except large tufts of pale rufous hairs in the axils of the principal veins, 3—7 in. across; petioles 5-6 in. long: fr. 1-1½ in. across. March-May. Conn, and S. N. Y to Fla., I11., Mo. and Mex.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


Cultivation

Propagation

Pests and diseases

Cultivars

Mature "monkey ball" after seed dispersal

Selected cultivars:

  • 'Burgundy' – dark red to purple fall colors may persist through winter.
  • 'Clydesform' - sold as Emerald Sentinel; columnar or narrowly pyramidal; slow growth to 9 meters; yellow-orange fall colors.
  • 'Festival' – columnar; pale green summer leaves; bright fall hues of yellow, pink and red; less hardy than most.
  • 'Goduzam' (Gold Dust) – variegated; pink to red-purple in fall.
  • 'Grazam' – pyramidal, with glossy leaves. Orange, red and purple fall colors.
  • 'Gumball' – dwarf shrubby cultivar seldom more than 2 meters tall. Purple-red fall color.
  • 'Moraine' – upright, rounded form, fast growth, red fall color, hardy to −30 °C.
  • 'Palo Alto' – various shades of red in fall; best in California.
  • 'Parasol' – develops rounded crown; mature height 10 meters; deep red fall color.
  • 'Rotundiloba' – sterile cultivar with rounded lobes on leaves. Originally discovered in North Carolina in the 1930s.
  • 'Slender Silhouette' - very narrow columnar form.
  • 'Worplesdon' – cutleaf cultivar with orange, red and purple fall colors.

Gallery

References

External links


  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Keeler
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