Technical Report Program Flora

No. 92-1 / January 1992 Gene Silberhorn

Sweet Gum styraciflua L.

Growth Habit and Diagnostic Characteristics ––––––––– Habitat ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sweet gum is a tall (40 - 120 feet) with somewhat Sweet gum is found in a wide range of habitats from star-shaped . The leaves are usually 5 lobed, damp slopes to winter wet with saturated soils. but can vary from 3 to 7 lobes, and are arranged There are indications that in the Southern United alternately on greenish branchlets. Margins are States, L. styraciflua grows best in intermediately toothed and green on both sides, but slightly lighter flooded sites. green on the bottom. Its common name may come from the fresh leaves, that when crushed, give off a In Virginia, sweet gum is a frequent community mild, pleasant odor. Twigs and branches are often component of winter wet woods, otherwise known as corky-winged, an unusual feature, in just a few palustrine, forested, broad-leaved , tempo- in temperate regions. As the tree matures, these corky rarily flooded (PFO1A) wetlands according to the wing-like projections usually are not apparent. The federal wetland classification scheme. Many PFO1As in bark of mature trees is gray with longitudinal ridges coastal Virginia are dominated by red in associ- and alternating deep grooves. ation with other species such as sweet gum, black gum, sycamore ( occidentalis), green ash Perhaps the most striking feature of this tree is the (Faxinus pennsylvanica), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), spikey, pendulous, ball-shaped capsules, which vary and American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana). from green in summer to rusty-brown in the fall. Small winged , often unnoticed, escape from the Ecological Values/Benefits –––––––––––––––––––––––––– spherical capsules when the dries and de- hisces. Specifically, sweet gum produces many seeds that are eaten by chipmunks and , as well as quail, Sweet gum leaves are somewhat similar to red maple and songbirds. The bark and cambium of (Acer rubrum) (Wetland Flora, no. 91-7, July, 1991); young twigs are a favored food for beaver in the however, red maple has opposite leaves which are southeast. whitish underneath. Red maple also does not produce ball-like , but rather, winged fruits . . . the Holistically, as an associated species in palustrine typical maple . wetlands, accrues, in part, the general ecological values of these wetland habi- Sweet gum should not be confused with black gum tats. These wetlands function as natural filters of high (), forsake of a similar common name, nutrient loads, which often originate from croplands, which has simple, unlobed alternate leaves and as well as sediment runoff, pesticide and bluish, fleshy fruits. residues and other potential toxins.

Distribution ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Hydrophytic Factor/Federal Delineation –––––––––––––– Liquidambar styraciflua is found from southern New According to the National List of Species that , west to southern , south to Occur in Wetlands: Virginia (1988), L. styraciflua is and east to central . classified as a facultative plant (FAC). FACs are that are equally likely to occur in wetlands or nonwetlands (estimated probability 34%-66%). Liquidambar styraciflua L. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Wetlands Program This report was funded by the Wetlands Program Illustration by School of Marine Science of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Rita Llanso Virginia Institute of Marine Science College of William and Mary Dr. Carl Hershner, Program Director Printed on Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062 recycled paper.