LIQUIDAMBAR — SWEET GUM TREE. 



147 



trees, with elevated corky riclges. Leaves rounded in general outline, 

 deeply 5- to 7-lobed, smooth and shining, glandular-serrate, the lobes 

 pointed. They become deep crimson in autumn, and thus give the tree a 



Fig. 128.— Liquidambar Styraciflua. 



strikingly beautiful appearance. The flowers are produced in April, the 

 fruit maturing in autumn and persisting upon the tree until late in the 

 season. 



When wounded the bark exudes a sweetish, resinous gum resembling 

 storax, and possessing similar properties. Storax itself is produced by an 

 exotic species of the same genus, Liquidambar orientalis Miller. 



Habitat. — In moist woods from Connecticut to Illinois and southward. 



Part Used. — The gum — not official. 



Constituents. — Sweet gum, as it exudes, is a 

 thick liquid of a syrupy consistence, but hardens 

 upon exposure and finally becomes solid. It has 

 a pleasant balsamic odor and a sweetish, bal- 

 samic taste, followed by a sensation of pungency. 

 It contains cinnamic acid, styracin, and an aro- 

 matic oily hydro-carbon having the properties of 

 styrol. These are the essential constituents of 

 storax also. 



Preparations. — None are official. A syrup of 

 sweet gum, prepared according to the official 

 formula for syrup of tolu, is said to be an eligi- 

 ble preparation. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Like storax, sweet gum is used chiefly in 

 catarrhal affections, especially those of the respiratory and urinary mucous 



Fig. 129.— Liquidambar Styraciflua 

 (Fruit). 



