Red Sweet Gum Tree Leaf

Deep glossy green star shaped leaves mark the sweetgum.

Red sweet gum tree leaf. Leaves slightly aromatic when bruised. It is recognizable by the combination of its five po. Deltoid palmasect leaf margin. Grows 60 70 with a 45 spread.

It can be an excellent shade tree in the right location away from foot traffic where the spiky gumball fruits will not be an annoyance. American sweetgum also known as american storax hazel pine bilsted redgum satin walnut star leaved gum alligatorwood or simply sweetgum is a deciduous tree in the genus liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern north america and tropical montane regions of mexico and central america. Sweetgum grows from connecticut southward throughout the east to central florida and eastern texas and is a very common commercial timber species of the south. The sweetgum produces greenish flowers covered with fine hairs and its fruit resembles small sticker balls or burr balls which are eaten by birds and chipmunks.

Sweet gum is a large tree with a long cylindrical trunk pyramidal crown and corky wings on branches and twigs. The sweetgum tree has alternate simple serrate palmate venation glossy deciduous long stalked deep green leaves 4 8 across with toothed margins. Margin toothed tips long pointed. Sweet gum is known for its unique star shaped leaves with outstanding yellow red and purple fall color.

Liquidambar styraciflua commonly called sweet gum is a low maintenance deciduous shade tree that is native from connecticut to florida and missouri further south to texas mexico and central america. Dentate serrate hairs present. 3 6 inches leaf width. Altingiaceae sweet gums formerly hamamelidaceae description.

Sweet gum tree is a tall majestic tree that s difficult to beat for symmetrical beauty in a landscape setting. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern united states and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates. See more pictures of trees. Leaves turn yellow purple red in the fall and stay on the tree quite late.

3 6 inches leaf description. Facts on the sweet gum tree. Leaves are alternate simple star shaped with 5 sometimes 7 lobes 3 6 inches wide deeply lobed. Sweetgum is easy to identify in both summers and in winter.

Although native to eastern north america it is widely planted throughout the continent in its range. They range in color from green to yellow to deep red. Sweetgum leaves are star shaped with five sometimes seven long pointed lobes whose veins connect to a notched base. In missouri it typically occurs in moist low woods and along streams only in the far southeastern corner of the state steyermark.

Sweetgum is sometimes called redgum probably because of the red color of the older heartwood and its red fall leaves. Its shape is pyramidal becoming more rounded with age. If an appropriate space is available check out the cold hardy cultivar moraine which is recommended for northern illinois.