Sweetgum - twig
sweetgum twigs often display these woody projections referred to as wings
Sweetgum - twig
terminal bud is large, sticky, and covered in green to orange-brown shiny scales
Sweetgum - gumballs
woody sphere of many beak-shaped capsules hang on the tree through winter
Sweetgum - gumball
woody sharp pointed capsules give a spiny appearance
Sweetgum - flowers
male green flowers on an erect terminal stalk and female flowers in a dense head hang down on slender stalks
Sweetgum - leaves
sweetgum leaves typically have 5-7 lobes and leaf margins are glandular-serrate
sweetgum - fruitless
the fruitless sweetgum for sale in nurseries has 3-5 rounded lobes and no woody capsules
Sweetgum - fall color
sweetgum trees display a parade of fall colors

Plant Characteristics:

  • Tree: medium to large shade tree to 90 ft tall, with a straight trunk and a pyramidal crown; taller than wide; almost horizontal branches spread low on the trunk
  • Bark: smooth, gray with vertical lines that develop into rough cracks; later gray-brown, with intersecting ridges broken horizontally at irregular intervals
  • Twigs: shiny green to yellow-brown with corky wing-like outgrowths, moderately stout
  • Buds: terminal bud is large and usually sticky; covered with green to orange-brown scales, aromatic
  • Leaves: alternate; simple; star shaped, 4-6 in long and wide, with 5-7 pointed lobes; margins glandular-serrate; upper surface bright green; paler beneath with small hair tufts in vein axils; fragrant when crushed
  • Fall Foliage: purplish red
  • Flowers: species is unisexual – male flowers in multiples on a 3 in spike, solitary females on a 2 in stalk; both are yellow-green tinged with red
  • Fruit type: spiny seed balls, made up of woody brown spherical clusters of capsules, 1 – 1½ in, with openings in the surface that release two seeds from each capsule; matures in fall and remains on the tree through winter

Additional Details:

  • The aromatic, hardened sap that exudes from wounds has long been used as a substitute for chewing gum.
  • Wood is used for furniture, crates, cabinets, interior finish, slack barrels and woodenware.
  • Reddish heartwood present in large trees was once used as a substitute for mahogany.
  • Songbirds, chipmunks and squirrels eat the seeds.
  • Mice and rabbits browse the twigs.
  • A fruitless variety has been developed for landscape planting.

Part of the Witch-Hazel Family, also known as Red-Gum, Star-Leaf Gum, Bilsted and Alligator Wood.

References:
Brown, R. and M. Brown. 1972. Woody Plants of Maryland. Port City Press, Baltimore, MD.
Foster, S. and J. Duke. 1990. A field guide to medicinal plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Grimm, W. C. and J. Kartesz. 2002. The Illustrated Book of Trees. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, PA.
Harris, J. and M. Woolf Harris. 1994. Plant Identification Terminology: An illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, UT.
Peterson, L. 1977. A field guide to edible wild plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Virginia Department of Forestry. 2022. Common Native Trees of Virginia – Tree Identification Guide.
The Wildflower Center Staff. 2023. Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The University of Texas at Austin.