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SWEET GUM (Red Gum) 



(Liquidambar styraciflua L.) 



THE sweet gum is a large valuable forest tree. It 

 occurs on rich river bottoms and in swamps sub- 

 ject to frequent overflow, as well as on drier uplands 

 throughout the lower and middle parts of the State. 

 It is usually abundant in second growth on old fields 

 and in cut-over woods. The bark is a light gray, 

 roughened by corky scales, later becoming deeply 

 furrowed. After the second year the 

 twigs often develop 2 to 4 corky pro- 

 jections of the bark, which 

 give them a 

 winged a p - 

 pearance. 



The simple, 

 al t er n ate 

 star - shaped 

 leaf, with its 

 5 to 7 points 

 or lobes, is 

 5 to 7 inches 

 across and 

 very a r o- 

 matic. In the 

 fall its 

 coloring i s 

 brilliant, 

 ranging from 

 red to a deep 



SWEET GUM 



Leaf, one-third natural size. 



Twig, two-thirds natural size. 



pale yellow through orange and 

 bronze. 



The flowers are of two kinds on the same tree, 

 unfolding with the leaves. The fruit at first glance 

 reminds one of the balls of the sycamore, but on 

 closer inspection proves to be a head. It meas- 

 ures an inch or more in diameter and is made up of 

 many capsules with projecting spines. It fre- 

 quently hangs on the tree by its long swinging 

 stem late into the winter. 



The wood is heavy, moderately hard, close- 

 grained, and not durable on exposure. The reddish 

 brown heartwood, which suggests the name red gum, 

 is not present to any appreciable extent in logs 

 under 16 inches in diameter. The wood is exten- 

 sively used for flooring, interior finish, paper pulp 

 and veneers for baskets of all kinds. Veneers of 

 the heartwood are largely used in furniture, some- 

 times as imitation mahogany or Circassian walnut. 

 This tree should be more widely planted for orna- 

 mental use. 



57 



