Liquidambar styraciflua, sweetgum

Many of us know about sweetgum balls, but Liquidambar styraciflua is named for its fragrant sap which was prized in many cultures. The tree has wind dispersed pollen and seeds, and the seeds, leaves, and shoots provide food for a variety of animals. Mycorrhizal fungi benefit the growth of the tree. It is a popular landscaping tree because of its form and beautiful fall colors.

[@c.e.m7535]

Great video! Thanks for sharing. 🎉

[@justineeliza9462]

Thank you so much. I love your thoroughness!

[@hallelujahhomestead]

I loved this video! Thank you so much! I hope you have more content like this.

[@SylvanGreenEarth]

Thank you! I plan to do some more videos, but other projects are taking up my time right now!

[@georgenaugles5039]

Wow! Nice, thanks! I want to know how to make the chewing gum chewed by the ancients...

[@implespaynter]

Beautiful!

[@barkergardens]

Beautifully presented

[@SylvanGreenEarth]

Thank you!

[@rogerstrickland8922]

May I please ask can this beautiful tree be air layered?

[@SylvanGreenEarth]

I don't know. Just doing a brief search it looks like people have tried it, but I don't know how difficult it is.

[@raphlvlogs271]

they closely resembles platanus (plane trees) are they related?

[@SylvanGreenEarth]

No, they are in different families.

[@igorkuritsyn5749]

They have some similarities in appearance (fruits, leaves), but actually their fruits are arranged quite differently. Platanus fruit just disperses into seeds, and liquidambar fruit consists of capsules with small seeds that spill out of them.

[@raphlvlogs271]

why do they have separated exclaves in tropical central America?

[@SylvanGreenEarth]

Probably because of glaciations and volcanic activity leading to separated populations, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.938