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The American Sweetgum is a beautiful tree that grow 45-60 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 4-6 feet. The slender branches are wide-spreading and horizontal at the base ascending at an angle. The bark is grayish brown, with deep, perpendicular furrows set into broad ridges. The leaves are a deep shiny green, 3-5 inches wide, five pointed, finely round-toothed, with a generally star-shaped outline. The base is rounded, the stem is long and slender. The flowers that are catkin are the staminate, those that are in a rounded, long-stemmed head are pistillate. They bloom in May. The fruit is round, 1 inch in diameter, brown or green, and hang on long stems. It is formed by many pointed ovaries, containing only 1-3 seeds which fall in autumn. The fruit stays on through the winter. The Sweetgum is found in rich wetlands, from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas. The sap of this tree is used in the south to make chewing gum.
Information about this plant from the USDA Plants Database.
Information from the TreeGuide from Athenic Systems.
This page was last updated 11 Jun 2003.