Plant
Sweet gum
Liquidambar styraciflua
Also known as: American sweetgum
A native deciduous tree of the eastern U.S. with star-shaped five-lobed leaves, distinctive spiny ball-shaped seed capsules, and brilliant fall color (yellow, orange, red, purple all on the same tree). Common across Staten Island in residential plantings and forest-edge habitat. Aromatic resin (the 'sweet gum' of the common name) was historically used in chewing gum, perfume, and medicine.
Scientific
Liquidambar styraciflua is a 60–100 ft deciduous tree with five-lobed star-shaped leaves and distinctive spiny ball-shaped seed capsules (“gum balls”) that drop in fall and winter. Aromatic resin (storax) flows from cut bark — historically used as chewing gum, perfume base, and traditional medicine.
Notable for fall color: a single tree often shows yellow, orange, red, and deep purple foliage simultaneously. Among the most-conspicuous fall-color trees on the borough.
The hard, spiny seed capsules are commonly considered a nuisance for residential plantings (puncturing bare feet, jamming lawn equipment) but are also significant winter food for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds.
On Staten Island
Common in residential plantings and at the borough’s forest edges. Often used as a street tree historically. Greenbelt and other parks hold scattered specimens; the species is more abundant farther south but is well-established on SI.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Produces: [[firewood]]
- Member of: [[plants]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- USDA Forest Service Silvics of North America: sweet gum
- USDA NRCS Plants Database
Rooted in life.
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