Liquidambar

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Liquidambar >

Read about Liquidambar in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Liquidambar (from Latin liquidus, fluid, and the Arabic ambar, amber; in allusion to the fragrant juice which exudes from the tree). Hamamelidaceae. Ornamental trees grown chiefly for their handsome foliage assuming crimson tints in autumn. Deciduous: lvs. alternate, slender-petioled, palmately 3-7-lobed, serrate, with small stipules: fls. apetalous, usually monoecious, in globular heads; staminate fls. without perianth, intermixed with small scales, in heads forming a terminal raceme; pistillate fls. in slender- peduncled globular heads consisting of more or less cohering 2-cellcd and 2-beaked ovaries subtended by minute scales in place of calyx-lobes: fruiting head globose, spiny from the persistent styles, consisting of dehiscent caps., each with 1 or 2 winged seeds.— About 4 species in N. and Cent. Amer. and in W. and E. Asia. L. orientalis yields the liquid storax; the resin of L. Styraciflua is used in the preparation of chewing-gum. Only L. Styraciflua is well known in cultivation; it is a beautiful pyramidal tree of very symmetrical habit with maple-like lustrous leaves assuming a deep crimson color in autumn; in winter it is conspicuous from its usually corky branches, the persistent pendulous fruit-heads and the deeply furrowed bark. It is hardy as far north as Massachusetts; it is of moderate growth and prefers moist situations. It is free from insects and diseases and is said to withstand salt air. It requires close pruning when transplanted. Propagation is by seeds which should be stratified as soon as ripe; many of them do not germinate until the second year. L. formosana, Hance. Tree, to 120 ft.: lvs. usually 3-lobed, pubescent on young plants, glabrous on older trees and only slightly hairy in the axils; scales subtending the ovary subulate, becoming spiny in fr. S.E. to Cent. China. H.I. 11:1020. Var.monticola,Rehd. & Wilson. Lvs. always glabrous. Hardier than the type. Cent. China. — L. orientalis, Mill. (L. imberbe, Ait.). Lvs. usually 5-lobed, the lobes usually with 2-4 small lobes, quite glabrous, smaller than in L. Styraciflua. W.Asia. H.I. 11:1019. F.S.R. 3. p. 87. Somewhat less hardy than L. Styraciflua. 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 It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article.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.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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