Hunker may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Sweet-gum (288-47*10) is in the East Illinois 53. I've found that it's much easier to learn to ID various trees by seeing them in the "flesh" than just by looking at field guides. If you are looking for a large, long-lived yard tree, both maple and sweetgum are good choices. Unlike sweetgum fruit, red maple fruit does not persist. Introduction: Sweetgum is an excellent urban tree provided it has a large area for root development. //specify corresponding links below While some varieties are filled with goodness, other trees leaves can have very little nutritional value. Chlorosis can show an a few leaves, an individual branch, half of the crown, or the entire tree. It also has a low value, making it an economical choice. Like the maple tree, these species have leaves whose ribs or veins radiate out from a single stalk or petiole attachment in a palmate pattern (that is, the lobes resemble a set of fingers). imagelinks2[3]="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheForestryForum?sub_confirmation=1" Unfortunately, not all leaves have the same value to a compost pile. Bark is brown to gray, very rough with . Because lignin levels are crucial when it comes to how fast your compost pile will break down. They have corky bark and grow slowly and are fantastically beautiful in Autumn. Trees of Pennsylvania and the Northeast by Charles Fergus covers over fifty trees found in our region. Though most abundant east of the Mississippi River and especially in the southern U.S., the sweetgum tree is one of the most common tree species in the eastern United States and has spread in small groups south to Central American countries including Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. This Is My Garden is a garden website created by gardeners, for gardeners. With that in mind, todays article is all about knowing which of those falling leaves are good for composting, and which are best to use in moderation, or not at all. The alternate leaves are maple-like or star-shaped. The leaves are star-shaped and sometimes confused with maple leaves, but careful examination shows the difference. Maples are among the most shade-tolerant deciduous trees and thrive in areas with cooler temperate climates such as Canada and the northern United States. He/she thanked people for their help. You can also rub the leaf in question between your fingers (as long as youre sure its not poison ivy ;-)) and then smell your hands. Maples as a whole are prized by the furniture industry; sugar maple trees provide the birdseye, curly and fiddleback woods valued for fine cabinetmaking. Yields long-stemmed, woody, burr-like fruit that is approximately 1" in diameter. This tree grows at a medium to fast rate, with height increases of anywhere from 13" to more than 24" per year. var myimages=new Array() Ca. Nyssa sylvatica. In some cases, this can slow the process of decomposition by twelve to eighteen months. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Here are three to always avoid: Black walnut trees and gardening simply do not go hand in hand. we don't have the autumn display many of you get. When it comes to the best of the best, maple leaves are certainly at the top of the list. They are deep, glossy green in summer and turn yellow to purple-red in the fall. Subscribe to UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County Blog. 7, no. The two main categories of leaf arrangement are alternate or opposite. Sycamores include a variety of tree species, ranging from the Old World sycamore (Platanus orientalis) to the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) to the California sycamore (Platanus racemosa). Sweetgums have alternative leaf arrangement. Black gum, also called black tupelo, is a tall tree with horizontal branches and a flat-topped crown. The green spiny fruit clusters become dry and brown during the late Summer. The leaves of a sweetgum tree are dark green. */ Those reddish-pink, winged seed things you used to throw in the air and watch them flutter to the ground? Leaves are actually one of the best resources around for gardeners. No; with over 100 species of maple, there's a huge range in growth rates from very slow to quite fast. mexicana. 1. As a whole, sycamores are members of the genus Planatus, which is made up of species commonly known as plane trees. L. styraciflua is a deciduous tree to 20m tall, broadly conical in outline, with rather glossy, maple-like, 5 to 7-lobed leaves which turn to shades of orange, crimson and purple in autumn. The fruit of sweetgum looks nothing like the fruit of red maple. The new, young leaves of Sweetgum frequently have more--rather than fewer--lobes, and have more pronounced teeth. Todays comparison focuses on how to tell apart red maple (Acer rubrum) from sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark. myimages2[2]="../../../images/top-banner/behindtheforum.jpg" Really.I don't denigrate those who would plant them in their own yard, but I will answer questions like the one posed about the prominent above-ground roots without sugar-coating the issue - and I didn't even address the issue of the abominable prickly seed capsules.I will agree that in some areas they do have marvelous fall color - but I rarely see it on the ones that grow here. "Know Your Trees." 100's, probably thousands of them all shapes and sizes it seems. Sunflowers. sweet gum: [noun] a North American tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) of the witch-hazel family with palmately lobed glossy green leaves, corky twigs, a round spiny brown fruit cluster, and hard wood. If that wasnt enough, the leaves of black walnut trees contain ingredients that can also prevent seeds from germinating. The American sweetgum with its star-shaped leaves, neatly compact crown, interesting fruit, and twigs with unique corky growths called wings is an attractive shade tree. With the knowledge that a variety of animals, insects, and birds can all share a single tree as a home, children will look at trees more deeply and with fresh eyes! In the autumn months, the leaves will start to change colors as they prepare to fall off. 12 April 2007. Sweet gum leaves turn a mix of red, orange and yellow, often on the same tree. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but hopefully you see where Im going here. Black maples form a large, rounded crown, making it an exceptional shade tree. on Sawmills and Milling, Started by texbob Like oak trees, beech trees also have a higher level of lignin. Lobes on many varieties are, however, smaller than the center of the leaf and range from very to only slightly pointy. In fact, they are among the fastest of all leaves to completely incorporate into a compost pile. The best way to identify maple trees is by their leaves, bark, and fruit. Identify the American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), also known as the liquid amber tree, by looking for its glossy, star-shaped leaves that turn yellow, orange, purple or red in the fall. Maple species (Acer spp.) That single detail is definitive. The real difference is that the Red Maple has lighter and smoother bark then the Sugar Maple. Sign up today to follow via email, or follow along on Facebook here : This Is My Garden. The leaves turn red, yellow, pink and purple in the fall before changing back to green in the spring. The sweet gum flowers bloom from March to May. Liquidambar styraciflua. Sticky and aromatic, it may also help to deter burrowing insects. 17, 2015, pp. This toxin can make quick work of vegetable garden plants as well as many flowering annuals and perennials. 412-766-7447 When you take any plant identification class you will learn about the concept of leaf arrangement, the way leaves are situated on the plant. They are typically grown as ornamental trees, and sycamore wood is used to make furniture, boxes, and crates. Japanese maple, whose name includes a description of leaf shape, Acer palmatum, is known for leaves with anywhere from seven to 11 deeply cut and visibly toothed lobes in its leaves. Canyon maple leaves have sharply cut lobes, consistent with its name Acer grandidentatum. Alice Slusher Replied September 07, 2015, 12:59 PM EDT. The sweet gum tree is often planted as an ornamental tree. Sycamore trees are also distinguished by their large patches of smooth bark, which has a creamy "camo" appearance from its mix yellow, tan, and gray. Leaves are alternate, simple, oval-elliptical, and lack teeth. . The fruit of sweetgum looks nothing like the fruit of red maple. Electric and gas shredders are great options but a push or lawn mower can shred them incredibly well too. It has become a prized specimen in parks, campuses, and large yards across the country. liquidambars when she moved in. Cannot imagine that their beauty, in an autumn-foliage- starved land such as ours would not out weigh the nuisance of their prickle balls. It is native to North America, where it is found along the eastern coast from Connecticut to northern Florida. Sweetgum. Sweetgum wood is used to make veneer, plywood, cabinets and furniture. myimages[2]="../../../images/top-banner/BladesFreeShip.jpg" Its lovely colour enveloping the lake makes Tsing Yi Park one of the most picturesque spots . Updated: 00/04/25 The base of the leaf is slightly asymmetrical. In fact, it is one of the most pH-tolerant of all trees, thriving equally well in acid or alkaline conditions. Fall Leaves. Small mammals such as chipmunks, red squirrels and gray squirrels also enjoy the fruits and seeds. One final note on composting the good leaves. Sweet Gum trees present a long-lasting kaleidoscopic display in the . Thanks. The easiest way to tell the difference, however young the tree and even in winter with no leaves, is the leaf arrangement. Maple trees never grow sweetgum balls. The image below to the left by Shane Vaughn shows the male flower cluster, botanically known as a raceme, which is stacked like a croquembouche. The american sweetgum can be expected to grow in Hardiness Zones 59. The major maples have leaves that are divided into three to five lobes. Tu, We: 10 a.m. 7 p.m. Instead, their seeds can be used for cooking or manufacturing sugar. What about their roots? Southern nicknames for sweetgum include red gum and alligator wood. Latin Name Acer then something or other. The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site in New York generously donated a grove of forty Sweet Gum trees to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania to commemorate the lives of the forty passengers and crew members of United Flight 93. Je peux rejeter les cookies non essentiels en cliquant sur Grer mes prfrences . Although the tree is named sycamore, this tree species is in the genus Acer which means it is one of the types of maple trees. You can see that especially well in the picture above. Plus, white mulberry trees are known to be messy neighbors, and the species' male trees emit pollen notorious for triggering allergies. Maple leaves have higher levels of nitrogen and calcium, which of course, are both perfect for plants, and a compost pile. Sweet gum is a large tree with a long, cylindrical trunk, pyramidal crown, and corky wings on branches and twigs. In severe chlorosis even the veins may turn yellow or the leaf may even turn white. The Kentucky champion tree is in Henderson County and is over 70 feet tall. They have five to seven lobes and are 4 to 8 inches long and wide with serrate margins. The deciduous leaves are maplelike in outline, with five pointed lobes and lightly toothed margins. In addition to the sticks, twigs, broken branches, and leaves that shower down almost every day, it also blankets the yard around it in early summer with cottony seedshence, the name "cottonwood." Opposite being that you would end up with several horizontal lines. It can be found throughout most of the United States as a forest tree in the Southeast and an ornamental in gardens and cities. Maple Leaves. myimages[5]="../../../images/top-banner/cookie-mizer.jpg" Examine the bark. From a distance these tree species can easily be mistaken for one another, but on closer inspection there are plenty of ways to tell them apart. A study of the Chinese sweetgum, Liquidambar formosana, suggests they are also efficient contributors to carbon sink because they retain high photosynthetic activity even as their leaves begin to drop. Interesting Facts: In rural areas, children made bubble gum by combining sweetgum sap with other local fruits. Rarely reaches 100 feet in the wild. The thin skins of maple leaves also shred easily and break down quickly in a compost pile. ry=1 The leaves are dark green color. Nature is full of variations; theres plenty of beauty without intent to mock us!. The same is true in the Northeast, where as many as a dozen varieties of maple overlap. Chalk maple, Acer leucoderma, thrives from North Carolina south to Florida and west to Texas, overlapping with the Florida maple, Acer barbatum. Stems often have corky and attractive wings during the second year. Female sweetgum flowers have a rounded head and droop on a curved stalk. Maples have samoras, flat wingshaped seeds that many people call "helicopter" seeds, cause of the way they drop thru the air. var ry=Math.floor(Math.random()*myimages.length) They eventually drop to the ground before Spring, and they are infamously known for their sharp woody hornlike projections that make walking barefoot beneath a Sweet Gum tree an ill-advised endeavor. Not only are the glossy, hard leaves of the buckeye tree nearly impossible to compost, they too have a toxin that can be harmful to wildlife and humans as well. "The american sweetgum we generally see is "Liquidambar Styraciflua" to scientists. Young trees up to 4-8 inches with a smooth light gray bark, developing into gray or black ridges and ultimately narrow scaly plates. It grows in moist flat areas in association with pin oak or sycamore. Thank you for all your input. PubMed Central. Grows 60'-70', with a 45' spread. The common name Sweet Gum comes from the sweet tasting and gummy consistency of its resin. The Sweetgum tree is native to the southeastern United States and a member of a genus made up of only six species. They can also be found scattered on the ground once they have dried and fallen. Some maple varieties, such as Canyon maple, confine their range to a small area, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of southern Idaho. Its weak wood is prone to breaking during severe weather, and the female trees also drop messy seeds. Unfortunately, these leaves are also hard to shred! all have smaller leaves and winged fruits; American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) has larger leaves with shallow lobes and unique peeling bark. They also produce delicious sweets that humans enjoy!. Sweetgum leaves are palmate, or flat and hand-shaped, with five or sometimes seven pointed lobes with serrated edges. Although the leaves have a similar shape to some maple leaves, a quick check of the leaf growth pattern can confirm the trees identity. Maple leaves turn a variety of colors in the fall, ranging from reds to yellows, oranges and browns. web may 22 2020 maple sycamore and sweet gum are all examples of common north american trees they all have simple leaf structure as do sugar maple sycamore elm oak and sweet gum more fun tree They are classified in separate families; maples are currently placed in the family Sapindaceae (formerly in their own family Aceraceae), while sweetgums are currently placed in the family Altingiaceae (formerly in the family Hamamelidaceae). Maple leaves form opposite of each other while the leaves of the Sweet Gum form alternately as shown in the botanical image below. 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. Young trees are pyramidal; older trees more oval. Sweet-gum (205-61*3) is in the Tree Evaluation Plot. It may be a function of soil type/compaction, etc., but every sweetgum I've ever encountered in a residential yard situation threw up huge, obtrusive roots projecting well above the soil surface.I've seen literally millions of the invasive natives growing wild in the woodlands of my native AL, and didn't necessarily notice the surface roots so much there, though now that I think about it, even out in the woods, those above soil-surface roots were pretty prominent. Back again.making multi-colored sawdust. To identify sweet gum trees, look for large star-shaped lobed green leaves that turn spectacular autumn red, yellow, and orange colors. Sycamores are often found in humid continental climates, especially in wetlands and areas near rivers and streams. On the other hand, maple trees produce food for other animals but dont produce much edible material themselves. Like the sweetgum and the yellow-poplar, the sycamore has leaves that are alternate in arrangement. Its shape is pyramidal, becoming more rounded with age. What are the differences between maple trees and sweetgums? I've been looking at trees so long, I can just glance at them out the corner of my eye and tell what they are - except nyssas, that is! "Liquidambar Styraciflua 'Rotundiloba. When composting the varieties below, try to keep your piles make-up at no more than 10 to 15% of these types of leaves: With their thick, shiny outer layer, oak leaves are extremely slow in decomposing. on Tree, Plant and Wood I.D. Hard to tell which Maple from the immature leaves. Like maple leaves, they also have low levels of lignin. if (ry==0) Alternate being that if you were to play connect the dots from where the leaf comes off the stem along the length of the stem, you would end up with a zigzag pattern. It is a medium-sized to large tree, growing to 65-115 ft, rarely to 135 ft tall, with a trunk up to 6 ft in diameter and may live to 400 years. After examining the very young Sweetgum trees in my own backyard, I feel the need to defend your confusion between the species, especially after all the plant-nerds made fun of your totally valid question. Many of us are familiar with the fruit of red maple, but perhaps just didnt know what tree it came from. In some cases, it is because the leaves fall more on the acidic side and can upset the final PH makeup of a compost pile. Maple is in the family Aceraceae while sweet gum in in the family Altingiaceae. The leaves of sweet gum are palmate like maple but the fruits are quite different. Think I read someplace its almost the only tree in that family. If leaf arrangement isnt your thing, check out the leaf margins, or edges of the leaf. Other variations include maple, birch, hickory, oak, poplar and willow. The thirty-foot tall trees traveled from New Jersey in specialized flatbed trailers. Sweet gum tree leaves have five to seven pointed lobes, and their shape will remind you of a star. Sweet gum tree is a tall, majestic tree that's difficult to beat for symmetrical beauty in a landscape setting. Once commercially popular for soaps, adhesives and pharmaceuticals, today its wood is valuable for fine furniture and interior finishing. They are usually about inch long and appear in the spring. Autumn is here, and that means there will soon be leaves littering the ground. Because the leaves of these species can look so similar, it can be hard to tell exactly what you are looking at. Deep, glossy green star-shaped leaves mark the Sweetgum. I would not plan on planting flowers or shrubs under them, however. One thing is for sure, when it comes to composting, all leaves are not the same and that is why it is vital to know what leaves are best for composting, which should be used in moderation, and which varieties of leaves should be left out of your pile completely! All of these are well balanced in their nutrients. The tree is located in Alley Pond Park in Queens and is visible from Interstate 495. A single family member has a consistency in leaf shape that a group of relatives does not. One way to be sure is to check the leaf arrangement on the branches. In addition to the American sweegum, Asia is home to L. formosana,L. orientalis (Turkish sweetgum), andL. acalycina. Examine the leaf. Sweetgum: An Ancient Source of Beneficial Compounds with Modern Benefits.Pharmacognosy Reviews, vol. Roundleaf sweetgum, or Liquidambar styraciflua rotundiloba,has star-shaped leaves with three to five lobes that have rounded tips. This tree is often planted in parks where its height, ranging from 70-120 feet, and sprawling branches, spreading 40-50 feet, create shade for visitors. Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is often mistaken for a maple. The name sweetgum comes from the Native Americans who would peel back the bark, scrape off the resin, and chew the resin as one would chew gum. Features glossy green star-shaped leaves throughout the summer Is a sweet gun not an oxymoron? Both grow to heights between 60 and 100 feet, providing summer shade, attractively ridged gray bark, autumn color and fruit-capsules that bring entertainment to children. Maple trees have shiny dark green leaves that are oval-shaped with uneven edges. A single family member has a consistency in leaf shape that a group of relatives does not. They are vigorous shade trees from the southeastern United States with star-shaped leaves that smell sweetly resinous if scratched. Tomatoes (cherry tomatoes make wonderful treats) Tomato plants- in moderation (mine eat them with no problems) Tree of Heaven. How many species of sweetgum tree are there? myimages[4]="../../../images/top-banner/ez50-banner.jpg" Liquidambars are well known for developing a lot of surface roots. imagelinks2[1]="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheForestryForum?sub_confirmation=1" Children call them gumballs or stickerballs, and it's rare to find a child . In North America, their range extends from Ontario to Florida. Maples come from a huge family of trees. To distinguish them, look at the teeth on the leaf edges. Pittsburgh PA 15202 As the leaves mature--or as the tree gets bigger?--they seem to become more simplified and less deeply toothed. But maybe best of all, the leaves of autumn, in all of their abundance, are the perfect addition for building an incredible fall compost pile. When you cut into the trunk, you see the wood is light, fine-textured, and uniform. Updated: 00/04/25 Considered a pioneer species, the sweetgum tree can grow beyond 100 feet and is often found in the aftermath of a clearcut. Many people recognize sweet gum as a distinct type of tree. Sweet Gums grow quite tall- 75 ft. Add them in moderation to piles, always being sure to shred them as finely as possible to speed decomposition. All gums are produced by different species of trees and are used for a variety of functions in our daily lives. It has brilliantly colored autumn foliage, much like the maple tree, which makes it stand out when trees start putting on their fall fashion show.