Description
Liquidambar – Sweetgum –
There are 4 species of tall, deciduous, monoecious trees in this genus. They occur in moist woodland in Eastern and Southwestern Asia, Turkey, North America and Mexico. They are grown for their particularly for their attractive foliage, which colors in shades of orange, red, and purple in autumn, and for their conical form. The maple like leaves are alternate and palmately 3 to 7 lobed. In conspicuous, yellow-green flowers are held in rounded heads in late spring, the female flowers are followed by spiky, spherical fruit clusters. Sweetgums are excellent as street tree, or as specimen trees.
Grow in moderately fertile, preferably acidic or neutral, moist but well drained soil, in full sun for best autumn color, or partial shade. Tolerates alkaline soil.
Prone to leaf spot, bleeding canker, butt rot, wood rot, webworm, tent caterpillars, weevils, and borers.
L. orientalis – Oriental Sweet Gum – Turkish Liquidambar – This small, slow growing, broadly conical bushy tree from Southwestern Turkey and Southwestern Asia grows 20-25′ feet tall and half as wide. It has thick, orangey brown bark that cracks into small plates. It produces palmately 5 lobed, matte green leaves, 3-4″ across, turning yellow and orange with purplish tunes in autumn. It bears small yellow green flowers appear along with the leaves, followed by clusters of small, brown, rounded fruit.
Zones 7-9
