American-Sweetgum

(Liquidambar styraciflua)

Family: Altingiaceae

Phylum: Anthophyta

CSU TREE MAP ITEM #35

Distribution

Native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central America.

By Elbert L. Little, Jr., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service - USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center: Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps from: Elbert L. Little, Jr. (1971), Atlas of United States trees, Vol. 1, conifers and important hardwoods: U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 1146, 9 p., 200 maps., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30191522

Leaves

By Shane Vaughn [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Flowering

By Shane Vaughn [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Fruit

By Photo (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) - Self-photographed, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3140447

Questions

Using the bark descriptors given in the handout, describe the type of bark this tree has.

How similar or different are Sweetgum leaves compared to maple leaves? What is the easiest way to tell that a Sweetgum tree is not a Maple tree?