Sweet Gum Tree Balls Name
Before you write them off as just a nuisance consider these simple ways to utilize the sweet gum ball tree and it s falling fruit.
Sweet gum tree balls name. If you walk by a sweetgum tree now you know they can be useful. Styraciflua translates as flowing with styrax sweet gum hence the common name. If you walk by a sweetgum tree now you know they can be useful. It takes the sweet gum tree 20 to 30 years to mature enough to produce its fruit.
The bark of the sweet gum sometimes called alligator wood. The sweet gum got its name for the resinous sap that results when you score its bark. The trees spike ball fruit is almost as telltale for identification as the star shaped leaves. Liquidambar translates as liquid amber referring to the sweet resin that can be obtained from the tree.
While you wait the tree has much to offer. Sweet gum trees are so beautiful until you want to walk barefoot through your lawn. The sweetgum has a nahuatl name ocotzocuahuitl which translates to tree that gives pine resin from ocotl pine tzotl resin cuahuitl tree which refers to the use of the tree s resin. Also known as american storax hazel pine bilsted redgum satin walnut star leaved gum alligatorwood or simply sweetgum.
Liquidambar styraciflua gets its name from the resin the tree produces. Every subdivision from florissant to kirkwood to maryland heights has several of them. The american sweet gum is a popular tree in the st. Facts on the sweet gum tree.
These compound seed capsules are often confused with the seed heads of the. Trees are the backbone of any good landscape plan. Chemical treatments however can stop a tree s fruit production which keeps the lawn free of that litter. It is not.
It was used to add a distinctive balsamic flavoring to the first pipe of tobacco aztec emperor moctezuma shared with conquistador hernando cortez. Summer shade and vibrant fall leaf color are merits of the sweet gum tree liquidambar styraciflua. Additionally the sweet gum s spiky gum balls hang conspicuously from the tree s smaller branches sometimes all winter. Round spiny fruits or balls that litter the ground making a simple walk across the yard a precarious one.
It s sweet gum ball time of year again and that means you may find yourself slipping on these prickly round seeds. The tradeoff for these perks is a source of aggravation for some gardeners. Trees vary in height the shape of their canopies type of foliage fall color flowers or fruit as well as other. 8 the common name sweet gum refers to the species sweetish gum 9 contrasting with the black gum nyssa sylvatica only distantly related with which the sweet gum overlaps broadly in range.