Ripe Seeds on a Sweetgum Tree - Liquidambar styraciflua Professional Indianapolis Tree Removal for Sycamore and Sweetgum Trees. Removing the tree permanently by cutting it down is the most effective solution for removing the sweetgum ball problem from your lawn, then following up by replacing it with a . View Map. The first and foremost way to tell is that maples are opposite leafed trees, and sweetgummery are alternate . Maple trees have shiny dark green leaves that are oval-shaped with uneven edges. My sister's small townhouse garden in SoCal was populated by 13(!) The American sweetgum is a large shade tree with an ovular shape. 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. They can also easily be incorporated into garden and flowerbed soil to help recharge depleted nutrient levels. Sugar Maple ( Acer saccharum) A shade-tolerant deciduous tree of the northeast, often associated with climax communities on rich, mesic sites. Fall Leaves. Silver Maple ( Acer saccharinum) A maple with deeply-lobed leaves, named for the silvery color of the backside of its leaves. Fruit tree leaves have good levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. 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. This tree: Features star-shaped leaves with 5 lobes (occasionally 7) that are lustrous medium green in color, toothed along the margins and 47 in length. For this reason, the tree is also known as the tulip tree. Although all of these varieties have thinner membranes that break down quickly, they all benefit from being shredded before adding to the compost pile. The tree is not toxic to dogs and cats, but the seedpods do present a different type of health threat if your pet were to step on one. The American sweetgum grows in acidic, loamy, moist, sandy, well-drained, wet and clay soils. 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). Ca. One of the most attractive native trees around. Eucalyptus, a type of gum tree, is used to create air fresheners, essential oils, hygiene products, and more. The sap, known as storax, has been used for centuries to treat common ailments such as skin problems, coughs, and ulcers. In winter, and all year round, for the most part, mature trees still have a few sweetgum balls hanging about the branches here and there. imagelinks[3]="https://woodmizer.com/Store/Shop/Portable-Sawmills/LX25-Portable-Sawmill?utm_source=forestryforum.com&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=lx25&utm_term=2023-02-10&utm_content=800x160" The alternate leaves are maple-like or star-shaped. Leaves: The sweetgum typically has large leaves with five pointed lobes and the edges of the leaves are toothed. Like maple leaves, they also have low levels of lignin. It is the differences between these two tree varieties, however, that will help you to identify them in nature and make a final choice for your yard. Answer (1 of 3): Sweet gum is in a different family than is maple. Sticky and aromatic, it may also help to deter burrowing insects. Rarely reaches 100 feet in the wild. However, they were identified as sweetgums. Sweetgum fruit is a round, spikey and woody ball of capsules that is about one to one-and-a-half inches in diameter. If leaf arrangement isnt your thing, check out the leaf margins, or edges of the leaf. Maples come from a huge family of trees. Most of the Red Maple leaves are a light or a pale green to a whitish. People also collect the spiny fruit clusters when they are dry and brown, often coating them with spray paint to create a variety of crafts. Elm leaves alternate along two sides of the stem. Many of the medicinal properties of sweetgum are derived from the resinous sap that exudes when the outer bark of the tree has been damaged. ry=1 The leaves of a maple tree are very distinct, but that shape does not belong to maple leaves alonea number of broadleaf trees have maple-like leaves. 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. Features star-shaped leaves with 5 lobes (occasionally 7) that are lustrous medium green in color, toothed along the margins and 47" in length. Bark matures to medium gray and resembles . You can have as many as you wish Both trees are deciduous, losing their leaves in the fall, so if you dont have leaves to reference, perhaps you can check out the fruit. But high levels of lignin also cause another issue in that they love to devour nitrogen. From the leaf shape you might think it a maple, except that no maple can match the sweet odor. black pepper, coniferous gymnosperms and angiosperms of the mulberry, pepper, beech and . Southern nicknames for sweetgum include red gum and alligator wood. Liquidambar styraciflua. Their fall color lasts much longer than most other trees. var imagelinks2=new Array() The trident maple's leaves turn yellow, orange or reddish in the fall. Much of the similarity ends there, however, since male oak flowers dangle in long, slender catkins, while male sweetgum flowers form in upright clusters that somewhat resemble a bunch of grapes. To distinguish them, look at the teeth on the leaf edges. 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. Nature is full of variations; theres plenty of beauty without intent to mock us!. Have one Morraine with smooth trunk and a little faster growing, not as crinkled and gnarly and interesting as the others, but very pretty summer leaves. While hickory nuts aren't attractive to deer deer will consume this tree's browse (buds, stems, etc.). It is not as hardy as the native species. Invasiveness is a non-issue here. However, when mature, those lobes extend beyond four inches in size. They also all have lower levels of lignin. | bwc84202464. Maple leaves form opposite of each other while the leaves of the Sweet Gum form alternately as shown in the botanical image below. Our Sweet Gum tree is located on the edge of Bayne Park along North Balph Avenue near the flagpole. In the autumn months, the leaves will start to change colors as they prepare to fall off. Politique d'Utilisation des Cookies de Houzz. Always keep eucalyptus leaves out of the compost pile completely to avoid any adverse issues with plants. Do sweetgum do the same? Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is often mistaken for a maple. Trees of Pennsylvania and the Northeast by Charles Fergus covers over fifty trees found in our region. They have simple star-shaped leaves with 3 lobes that turn . One way to be sure is to check the leaf arrangement on the branches. The bark is grayish brown and deeply furrowed. Description of sweet gum tree: The sweet gum has a pyramidal habit when young, eventually becoming rounded and tall -- up to more than 100 feet. by Lara Milligan Maple leaves resemble sweetgum leaves and each other in their palmate shape. Have you wondered why a tree would produce sticky or gummy resin? . Illustration uses linear gradients. Traditional medicine employed parts of sweetgum as an antiseptic and an astringent. They are usually about inch long and appear in the spring. The leaf will have a saw-tooth or serrated edge. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Although native to eastern North America, it is widely planted throughout the continent in its range. While birds love the fruit of mulberry treesa phenomenon that will also cause unwanted messes in your yardwe must admit that we do not. The deciduous leaves are maplelike in outline, with five pointed lobes and lightly toothed margins. Wednesday: 10 a.m. 7 p.m. Species of sweetgum trees are found around the world, from North America (Liquidambar styraciflua) to China (Liquidambar acalycina) to Greece and Turkey (Liquidambar orientalis). Match the Sweet gum is in the spring red maples in creeklets, doing very well and aromatic it! ): Sweet gum ( Liquidambar styraciflua Professional Indianapolis tree Removal for and! S bark is dark gray and flaky when young, but it becomes furrowed with age, resembling hide... Sticky or gummy resin can also easily be incorporated into garden and flowerbed soil to help depleted! 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