{"id":23,"date":"2015-06-08T21:20:55","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T02:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/campustrees\/?page_id=23"},"modified":"2015-08-06T10:27:15","modified_gmt":"2015-08-06T15:27:15","slug":"sweetgum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/campustrees\/sweetgum\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweetgum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sweetgum\"<\/p>\n

References<\/strong>: The National Arbor Day Foundation\u00a0https:\/\/www.arborday.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Signs Designed by Amanda Parsons, Natural Resources and Recreation Management student.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Sweetgum\"<\/a>Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sweetgum tree has star shaped leaves that turn purple, yellow and red in the fall. They are big beautiful trees that are shaped like pyramids and grow very well in the eastern United States. However they can be found as far south as Guatemala.\u00a0 The fruits are very prickly and about an inch around and are great food for birds and squirrels.<\/p>\n

The timber from this tree is called Satinwood and is used for making furniture due to its attractive streaks of reddish-brown. \u00a0The resin from tree, called Storax, is said to have medicinal purposes.\u00a0 It is used in aromatherapy and is said to be a good expectorant.<\/p>\n

This tree is a member of the Witch-Hazel family, and is sometimes called Red gum or Sap gum. \u00a0The Sweetgum tree grows very fast and can grow up to 100 feet tall. Some people would peel it\u2019s bark back, remove the resin, and chew it like chewing gum.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t grow in polluted areas, so keep it clean if you like the Sweetgum tree!<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n