192 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA 



FOTHERGILLA, iMurray. (No common name). 



Fothergilla Gardeni, Alurr. {F. Carolina {],.) Britten). 



A small shrub, usually ahout knee-his^h, with leaves much like 

 and pods something like those of IlaiiuuiicUs, l)ut with white flow- 

 ers in dense clusters in sj^'ing. Has no known use, except that it 

 is sometimes cultivated, more as a rarity or curiosity than any- 

 thing else. 



Grows mostly in sandy bogs ; rather rare. 



lA. Lauderdale County (M. C. Wilson). 



2A. Cullman County (Mohr). Marshall County (C. L. Boynton, 

 Harbison ). 



6C (?). Prattville (Mohr). 



13. Sandy bog south of Andalusia. 



/''. major Lodd., a somewliat larger species, is credited to the moun- 

 tains of Alabama by Dr. Small, but without definite locality. The Fofhcr- 

 c/illa along Eight-mile Creek in Cullman County is referred by W. Wolf to 

 this species. 



LIQUIDAMBAR, Linnaeus. (Only one species in the United States.) 



Liquidambar Styraciflua, L. 



SwKKT (lu.M. (Red Gum of the lumber trade.) 



A well-known tree, one of the commonest in the state, next 

 to some of the i)ines and oaks. Attains a diameter of about four 

 feet, particularly in the Sipsey River bottoms near Fayette, but 

 most specimens at the ]iresent time are less than two feet, l^looms 

 in March and April. 



The sweet gum is so common that it is inevitable that it 

 shotild have many uses. It is cultivated in parks and along streets 

 (mostly in the northern and middle states, where it is rarer and 

 more appreciated than in the South), and is es])ecially showy in 

 the fall, when its leaves turn purplish. The ctirious frttits (sweet- 

 gum balls) and corky-winged twigs are sometimes used for dec- 

 orations and fancy articles. The gtim that extides from the inner 

 bark when it is wounded is used to some extent in the treatment 

 of catarrh and frost-bite, and in the manufacture of chewing-gtim, 

 l)Ut it is not officinal. 



One might sui)]:)ose that such a common tree would be used 

 largely for fuel ; but it does not seem to be specially sought for 

 that purpose. It was used for steamboat fuel in Mississippi in the 

 middle of the last century, though, according to Wailes. 



