The cool thing about finding a tree with opposite leaf arrangement is there arent a ton of tree species that have it. They are deep, glossy green in summer and turn yellow to purple-red in the fall. imagelinks[2]="https://woodmizer.com/us/Sawmill-Blades?utm_source=forestryforum.com&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=sawmillblades&utm_term=2022-05-01&utm_content=800x160" Bark is brown to gray, very rough with deep grooves and narrow, slightly scaly ridges. Features glossy green star-shaped leaves throughout the summer Other trees with "maple-like" leavesthe sycamore, sweetgum, and yellow-poplarhave leaves that are alternate in arrangement. This iconic tree is easy to identify, in large part because of its distinctive leaves and notable fruit. The leaf will have a saw-tooth or serrated edge. Vector illustration. The leaves of a sweetgum tree have five points and are shaped like a star. The maple is a genus with about 128 different species, including the vine maple (Acer circinatum), hornbeam maple (Acer carpinifolium), and paperbark maple (Acer griseum). Deep, glossy green star-shaped leaves mark the Sweetgum. Sweet Gum trees have a star-shaped leaf with five points. Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) Index of Species Information. (Zones 5-9) I've been tempted, at times, to plant 'Rotundiloba', just 'cause I think the leaves look kind of 'neat'.Lest you think I've gone too soft, though, rest assured that I'm working diligently to eliminate each and every one of the accursed things from my property here.Some say that familiarity breeds contempt, and I'm very familiar with L.styraciflua. 1 | Hickory Tree. Find high-quality stock photos that you won't find anywhere else. Hard to tell which Maple from the immature leaves. Uses for sweet gum tree: The sweet gum is a perfect choice for parks, large lots, and street plantings (as long as the tree's massive roots are not in the way). This list includes sycamore, yellow-poplar, and sweetgum trees. lol, the website I put up a link to describes the sweetgum seed balls as "looking like a mace weapon". It has become a prized specimen in parks, campuses, and large yards across the country. (Zones 5-9). If that wasnt enough, the leaves of black walnut trees contain ingredients that can also prevent seeds from germinating. Ginkgo. Other great leaf varieties for composting are poplar, ash, willow, cherry, black cherry and elm tree leaves. It has moderate drought tolerance. Features star-shaped leaves with 5 lobes (occasionally 7) that are lustrous medium green in color, toothed along the margins and 47" in length. Sweetgum leaves are star-shaped with five (sometimes seven) long, pointed lobes whose veins connect to a notched base. Learn how different trees grow through the seasons, obtain tips on tree identification, and gain an understanding of how vital trees are to the environment. random_imglink2() The american sweetgum can be expected to grow in Hardiness Zones 59. In Autumn, the leaves generally turn a reddish-purple or orange color. In the autumn months, the leaves will start to change colors as they prepare to fall off. 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. The genus portion of its Latin name Liquidambar refers to the resins liquid form and similar appearance to amber, which is fossilized resin. The bark is grayish brown and deeply furrowed. Updated: 00/04/25 Leaves: The sweetgum typically has large leaves with five pointed lobes and the edges of the leaves are toothed. Introduction: Sweetgum is an excellent urban tree provided it has a large area for root development. Pro: The wood has many uses, including flooring, lumber, and paper pulp among other things. Sweet gum trees bloom with inconspicuous, yellowish-green flowers in the spring that turn to seedpods which are often called gumballs in the fall. My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor. With the knowledge that a variety of animals, insects, and birds can all share a single tree as a home, children will look at trees more deeply and with fresh eyes! Red maple leaves are more toothed, while the lobes on sugar maples have smoother edges. Used as an ornamental shade tree, sweetgums offer a hardy option to homeowners, but do shed gumballs that can be a trip hazard. Back again.making multi-colored sawdust. The edges of the leaf are jagged and the veins are prominent. "Sweet Gum Tree" 1. Canyon maple leaves have sharply cut lobes, consistent with its name Acer grandidentatum. In summer they are shiny dark green above and downy below. Is a sweet gun not an oxymoron? But maybe best of all, the leaves of autumn, in all of their abundance, are the perfect addition for building an incredible fall compost pile. Sweetgum trees make for good shading foliage because they keep their leaves deep into fall. Although native to eastern North America, it is widely planted throughout the continent in its range. They are wonderful for helping cover and protect plants from the constant freezing and thawing winter can bring. For this reason, the tree is also known as the tulip tree. Interestingly, the various hues are often exhibited on the same tree. Photo: Alvin Huang / Moment / Getty Images. I thought the sweetgums in my backyard as maple. Fall color can be quite dramatic, with a combination of yellows, reds, and . Well, the obvious telltale sign is the seed containers. Saturday: 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Or check out the book lists and resource guides created by our staff, 34 N. Balph Ave., Children call them gumballs or stickerballs, and it's rare to find a child . Sweetgum tree bark looks light gray with vertical fissured ridges. Based on these examples, it seems like both sweet gum and maple trees have their advantages and disadvantages when compared to other varieties of trees. As a whole, sycamores are members of the genus Planatus, which is made up of species commonly known as plane trees. This is due in part to the oak leaves higher levels of lignin. I'd suggest you take a good field guide with you - in your case, Tree of Georgia and Adjacent States by Brown and Kirkman would probably be the best - and go on a hike through some nearby woods. Each sweetgum flower will grow as a spherical head nestled in an upright cone shaped cluster. Maple Leaves. These leaves are small, and will easily . We publish two articles every week, 52 weeks a year. sweet gum. The straight trunk of a sweet gum tree is characterized by gray-brown bark that has narrow, deep ridges. 7. Liquidambars are well known for developing a lot of surface roots. What about their roots? :)Sherry, The original title question . You can also note that the underside of red maple leaves are much lighter in color, almost white, compared to the underside of sweetgum leaves. The leaves flutter easily in the slightest of breezes and form a rounded canopy. No; with over 100 species of maple, there's a huge range in growth rates from very slow to quite fast. If you have fruit in-hand, telling them apart is a breeze. It certainly has its place, though. Think I read someplace its almost the only tree in that family. Leaves turn yellow-purple-red in the fall, and stay on the tree quite late. Maple leaves form opposite of each other while the leaves of the Sweet Gum form alternately as shown in the botanical image below. document.write('') The sweet gum tree is often planted as an ornamental tree. myimages2[2]="../../../images/top-banner/behindtheforum.jpg" Sweet gum leaves turn a mix of red, orange and yellow, often on the same tree. Both grow to heights between 60 and 100 feet, providing summer shade, attractively ridged gray bark, autumn color and fruit-capsules that bring entertainment to children. 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. Sweet gum is a native shade tree that has glossy green leaves with five points, similar to a sugar maple. In profile, the leaves of the yellow-poplar actually look like tulips. var myimages2=new Array() var ry=Math.floor(Math.random()*myimages.length) . 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. However, when mature, those lobes extend beyond four inches in size. Leaves of the mountain maple, Acer spicatum, on the other hand, have shallow lobes, more discernible in leaf veins rather than leaf shape. imagelinks2[2]="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheForestryForum?sub_confirmation=1" Its shape is pyramidal, becoming more rounded with age. Here is a link that might be useful: Invasive sweetgum. The sweet gum resembles a maple tree, and in the summer, the star-shaped leaves and sturdy trunk are impressive, if easily overlooked. Btw, 9 years ago when the question was originally asked Chueh didn't appear to feel fun was being made by 'plant nerds'. myimages2[1]="../../../images/top-banner/behindtheforum.jpg" Often, newly planted trees will scarcely grow at all for the first two or three years. Electric and gas shredders are great options but a push or lawn mower can shred them incredibly well too. Sign up today to follow via email, or follow along on Facebook here : This Is My Garden. imagelinks[1]="http://www.ezboardwalk.com/" Stems often have corky and attractive wings during the second year. 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. Thank you for all your input. They have nice fall color. In the fall, their leaves turn brilliant shades of yellow and red. Sweetgum seed delivery involves 1-to-1 1/4-inch-sized balls containing many individual fruits, ending in sharp-pronged points and each containing one or two long-winged seeds. Sweetgum trees are easy to recognize. Here are three to always avoid: Black walnut trees and gardening simply do not go hand in hand. On the other hand, maple trees produce food for other animals but dont produce much edible material themselves. The trident maple's leaves turn yellow, orange or reddish in the fall. Her work focuses on wildlife, water, and general environmental education. The black gum tree's bark is deeply ridged and resembles alligator skin. Although the leaves have a similar shape to some maple leaves, a quick check of the leaf growth pattern can confirm the tree's identity. This "trimmed" top helps distinguish the leaves from those of maples and sycamores. 100's, probably thousands of them all shapes and sizes it seems. Search from Sweet Gum Leaf stock photos, pictures and royalty-free images from iStock. The same sweetgum Liquidambar styrachiflua can be found throughout the eastern half of the U.S., growing from southern Connecticut and Illinois in the north down through the Deep South states as far west as Texas. American Sweetgum. These trees typically have a straight trunk with the branches extending outward at right angles. The black-tipped red horns give this caterpillar a menacing appearance, but it is harmless. "Liquidambar Styraciflua 'Rotundiloba. The fruit of sweetgum looks nothing like the fruit of red maple. Always keep eucalyptus leaves out of the compost pile completely to avoid any adverse issues with plants. Four species are common in the sweetgum genus. Each lobe is less than four inches in size. With their thin walls, fruit tree leaves also break down extremely fast. Leaves are alternate, simple, star-shaped, with 5 (sometimes 7) lobes, 3-6 inches wide, deeply lobed; margin toothed, tips long-pointed; leaves slightly aromatic when bruised. The same is true in the Northeast, where as many as a dozen varieties of maple overlap. The two main categories of leaf arrangement are alternate or opposite. Generally maples are spreading their roots shallowly. Sweet Gum . ' North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. The leaves of a sweetgum tree are dark green. Alternate being that if you were to play connect the dots from where the leaf comes off the stem along the length of the stem, you would end up with a zigzag pattern. The sweetgum tree produces hard seeds that have spikes. Sweet Gums grow quite tall- 75 ft. I can't think of a messier tree. There are some varieties of trees leaves that can still be composted, but should be used only in moderation. The deciduous leaves are maplelike in outline, with five pointed . Black Tupelo. Chlorosis can show an a few leaves, an individual branch, half of the crown, or the entire tree. Sycamore trees are also distinguished by their large patches of smooth bark, which has a creamy "camo" appearance from its mix yellow, tan, and gray. The downside to growing a sweetgum tree is the seed pods. It is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves and its hard, spiked fruits. Opposite on maples and alternate on sweet gum. As you will see below, one of the common denominators of good leaves versus bad leaves is their lignin level. By contrast, sweet gums have smooth bark that is gray or white in color. The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site in New York generously donated a grove of forty Sweet Gum trees to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania to commemorate the lives of the forty passengers and crew members of United Flight 93. 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. Metal Print of Yellow autumn leaf isolated on a white background. The female flower head droops downward from a two-inch long light green peduncle, or stem. Some ppl are upset with the spikey sweetgum balls but the trees get very big and majestic and imho are well worth the spikers which can be picked up (gloves) or raked. Both male flowers and female flowers occur on the same tree, appearing as the leaves emerge in the Spring. Houzz utilise des cookies et d'autres technologies de suivi similaires pour personnaliser mon exprience utilisateur, me proposer du contenu pertinent et amliorer ses produits et services. In other cases, some trees leaves tend to have a bit higher lignin levels. Nyssa sylvatica grows to 20-25 metres (66-82 ft) tall, rarely to 35 metres (115 ft), with a trunk diameter of 50-100 centimetres (20-39 in), rarely up to 170 centimetres (67 in). The green spiny fruit clusters become dry and brown during the late Summer. In addition to the American sweegum, Asia is home to L. formosana,L. orientalis (Turkish sweetgum), andL. acalycina. It is not as hardy as the native species. Like maple leaves, they also have low levels of lignin. i don't think many would find it desirable to have those in a lawn or garden setting.chueh is asking for information about existing trees and not wanting to know this to help with a decision for selecting a tree to plant but the link in the above post would provide some study data to consider for doing that. Red Flowering Gum Tree, named for its scarlet red . Do sweetgum do the same? The larva of the Regal Moth, known as the Hickory Horned Devil can be found dining upon the leaves of the Sweet Gum. Started by Gumpisan 4 The star-like leaf has five or seven lobes or points and turns from green in summer to . While some varieties are filled with goodness, other trees leaves can have very little nutritional value. The base of the leaf is slightly asymmetrical. I've read that both maples and sweetgums can develop extensive roots through decades. Growing sweet gum tree: Transplant when young -- the sweet gum resents root disturbance when it matures. Why is a low lignin level important? Avoid polluted sites. 17, 2015, pp. ;-)his reply addressed the question about surface roots (in an area with similar growing conditions to the one of the poster) and the comments accurately describe the sweetgums at the wooded perimeter of my yard; ripples of large, exposed roots extending out a long way from the trunk. Login with username, password and session length, Timberking 1400, Ford 3910 Tractor, John Deere 350B Crawler/Loader, 2007 Wood-Mizer LT40 Super Hydraulic with 51 hp. The leaves of the black gum tree are an elongated oval shape that offer a brilliant fall show. Maple leaves resemble sweetgum leaves and each other in their palmate shape. They can also easily be incorporated into garden and flowerbed soil to help recharge depleted nutrient levels. Maple trees have shiny dark green leaves that are oval-shaped with uneven edges. Maples have samoras, flat wingshaped seeds that many people call "helicopter" seeds, cause of the way they drop thru the air. Tu, We: 10 a.m. 7 p.m. CREATIVE. 1, July 2017, p. 6323. One final note on composting the good leaves. Although the tree is named sycamore, this tree species is in the genus Acer which means it is one of the types of maple trees. The leaf margin of red maples are coarsely toothed to entire (smooth) while the margins of sweetgum are finely toothed. Summer leaves are a dark green with a high-gloss appearance, but the most spectacular part of this tree is the fall foliage with many shades of yellow, orange, bright red, purple or scarlet that may appear on the same branch. Tree size: This slow-growing tree attains a height of 30 to 50 feet and a width of 20 to 30 feet. Considered a pioneer species, the sweetgum tree can grow beyond 100 feet and is often found in the aftermath of a clearcut. 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