| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | N/A |
| Botanical Name | Liquidambar styraciflua |
| Zone | 5-9 |
| Soil | High tolerance to different soil and site conditions. Grows best on the moist alluvial clay and loamy soils of river bottoms. Moderate drought tolerance. |
| Light | Full sun, ideally 6+ hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight daily. |
| Years to Bear | 20-30 |
| Form | Pyramidal shape, more rounded with age |
| Height | 60-75 feet |
| Spread | 40-50 feet |
| Bloom | Flowers from March to May. |
| Ripening Time | Fall |
| Fruit | Female flowers harden into \"gum balls\" of 1.5 inches in diameter. Yellow-green while still on the tree and dark brown in color once they fall in late winter to early spring. |
| Pollinator Friendly | Yes. Its flowers attract bees in the spring. |
American Sweetgum
$10.00
Liquidambar styraciflua
This unique gum tree is the only one of its type found in the United States, and is native to the southeastern US. It can have very striking fall colors from purple to red and gold and in some cases will show red, yellow and green simultaneously throughout the tree.
American Sweet Gum is a nitrogen fixers, meaning they take nitrogen from the air and deposit it into the soil around its roots It can also tolerate very wet soils and occasional flooding and is known to grow in swampy areas. It does not tolerate drought as well.
Plant American Sweet Gum trees in Spring to give them sufficient time to recover from transpolant shock before the end of the season.
American Sweet Gum’s ability to fix nitrogen, combined with its exceptional resistant to insect attacks, makes it an important tree for reforestation work. It develops a thick tap root that can withstand high water content soils.
This large deciduous tree can reach more than 100 feet, in height with a diameter of up to 4 feet, thought most specimens are 2 to 4 feet in diameter.. It produces small spiked ball shaped hard fruits which carry its seed. Seeds are eaten by goldfinches, purple finches, mourning doves, quail and wild turkeys, as well as small mammals including red and grey squirrels, and chipmunks.
The resin has been used medicinally and is a major source of shishimic (shikimate) acid. Ancient peoples used the resin medicinally in combination with healing herbs. In modern times it was used as a base for chewing gum.
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