HAMAMELIDACEAE 



SWEETGUM. ReDGUM 



Li qui dam bar styraciflua L. 



HABIT. A medium-sized to large tree 80-120 feet high and 

 2-4 feet in diameter (max. 200 by 7 feet) ; small, oblong crown 

 with small branches; long, clear, frequently buttressed bole. 



LEAVES. Alternate; simple; deciduous; star-shaped; deeply 

 and palmately 5-7 lobed; 4-7 inches long; lobes toothed and 

 acuminate; lustrous and bright green above; paler below and 

 glabrous except for tufts of hairs in the axils of the veins. 



FLOWERS. Monoecious; both male and female in heads; 

 the male in terminal racemes 2-3 inches long without calyx 

 or corolla and with an indefinite number of stamens; the female 

 in solitary long-stalked heads with a minute calyx and a 2-celled 

 ovary; appearing with the leaves. 



FRUIT. A multiple, globose fruit 1-1 Vi inches in diameter, 

 of woody, 2-celled, beaked capsules; maturing in one year but 

 persistent through the winter; 2 seeds in each capsule, each 

 about Yq inch long with a short terminal wing. 



TWIGS. Slender to stout; round or slightly angled; fre- 

 quently developing corky wings during the second year; green 

 to red-brown; pith star-shaped and homogeneous. Winter buds: 

 terminal present, Ya-Yi inch long, ovate, orange-brown, scaly. 



BARK. Thick; gray-brown; deeply furrowed, with narrow, 

 rounded and somewhat scaly ridges. 



WOOD. Very important, exceeded only among hardwoods 

 by oaks in volume of timber cut; diffuse-porous; fairly hard 

 and heavy; heartwood dark red-brown and often figured; used 

 for veneer, lumber, furniture, and containers. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Very intolerant; on rich moist 

 bottomlands or swampy sites; wide, shallow, lateral roots; 

 reproduction aggressive; storax gum, used in drugs and soaps, 

 is obtained from the bark. 



* * * 



Witch-hazel 



Hamamelis virginiana L. 



Witch-hazel is a distinctive shrub or small tree found through 

 the eastern United States. It is characterized by conspicuous, 

 perfect, yellow, autumnal flowers; woody, 2-valved capsules 

 from which the black seeds are forcibly ejected; simple, alternate, 

 deciduous, oval leaves, 4-6 inches long, which are crenately 

 toothed or lobed and smooth; and naked buds, Y^-Yi inch long. 



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