American Sweet Gum
Liquidambar  styraciflua 

American Sweet Gum
Liquidambar  styraciflua 
Narrow and erect when young, this tree becomes more rounded with age. It eventually reaches 60 to 75 feet tall. Spread is usually 20 to 25 feet, but trees may grow much wider in great age. Deep green, five- to seven-lobed, 3- to 7-inch-wide leaves turn purple, yellow, or red in autumn; fall color of seedling trees is variable, so select trees in fall leaf to be sure of good color. Branching pattern, furrowed bark, corky wings on twigs, and bristly fruits are showy in winter. Performs best in neutral or slightly acid soil; chlorosis in strongly alkaline soils is difficult to correct. Forms surface roots that can be a nuisance in lawns, planting beds, or narrow parking strips.

Hardiness Zone:  USDA Zones 5-9
Size:   60-75 ft. tall (up to 120 ft. tall in the wild) with a spread of 60 of its height.
Form:   Deciduous tree. Pyramidal turning to oval or rounded, with irregular and assymetrical branching.
Bark:   Trunk is grayish-brown, deeply furrowed into narrow, somewhat rounded ridges.
Stem/Bud:   Stems are light to dark reddish-brown or yellowish-brown, aromatic, rounded or somewhat angled, often with prominent corky ridges (but not always).
Leaves:   Leaves are alternate, simple, star-shaped with 5-7 lobes, 4-7 inches long, with axillary tufts on the principal veins beneath. Often confused with maples; but maples have opposite leaf arrangement.
Fall Color:   Fall color is yellowish to purple to reddish. Outstanding, and holding leaves until late in the fall.
Flower:   Flowers are monoecious, not significant.
Fruit:   Fruit is a persistent, spiny, syncarp (multiple fruit) of capsules.
Uses:   Street tree, specimen. Wet sites.
Sun/Shade Preference(s): Full Sun