Sweet Gum

Sweet Gum — Sweetgum (Liquidambar) is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Altingiaceae, though formerly often treated in the Hamamelidaceae. They are all large, deciduous trees, 25-40 m tall, with palmately lobed leaves arranged spirally on the stems. The flowers are small, produced in a dense globular inflorescence 1-2 cm diameter, pendulous on a 3-7 cm stem. The fruit is a woody multiple capsule 2-4 cm diameter (popularly called a “gumball”), containing numerous seeds.

The genus was much more widespread in the Tertiary, but has disappeared from Europe due to extensive glaciation in the north and the Alps, which has served as a blockade against southward migration. It has also disappeared from western North America due to climate change, and also from the unglaciated (but nowadays too cold) Russian Far East. There are several fossil species of Liquidambar, showing its relict status today.

The wood is used for furniture, interior finish, paper pulp, veneers and baskets of all kinds. The heartwood once was in furniture, sometimes as imitation mahogany or circassian walnut. It is used widely today in flake and strand boards. Sweetgum is a foodplant for various Lepidoptera caterpillars, such as the gypsy moth.