Liquidambar, commonly called sweetgum[2] (star gum in the UK),[3]gum,[2]redgum,[2]satin-walnut,[2] or American storax,[2] is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species.[1] They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae. They are native to Southeast and east Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and eastern North America. They are decorative deciduous trees that are used in the wood industry and for ornamental purposes.
They are all large, deciduoustrees, 25–40 metres (82–131 ft) tall, with palmately 3- to 7-lobed leaves arranged spirally on the stems and length of 12.5 to 20 centimetres (4.9 to 7.9 in), having a pleasant aroma when crushed. Their leaves can be many colors such as bright red, orange, yellow, and even purple.[4] Mature bark is grayish and vertically grooved.[4] The flowers are small, produced in a dense globular inflorescence 1–2 centimetres (0.39–0.79 in) diameter, pendulous on a 3–7 centimetres (1.2–2.8 in) stem. The fruit is a woody multiple capsule 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) in diameter (popularly called a "gumball"), containing numerous seeds and covered in numerous prickly, woody armatures, possibly to attach to fur of animals. The woody biomass is classified as hardwood.
L. styraciflua fruits on stem with seeds to the side
At higher latitudes, Liquidambars are among the last of trees to leaf out in the spring, and also among the last of trees to drop its leaves in the fall/autumn, turning multiple colors. Fall/autumn colors are most brilliant where nights are chilly, but some cultivars color well in warm climates.
Distribution
Species within this genus are native to Southeast and east Asia, western Mediterranean and eastern North America.[1] Countries and regions in which they occur are: Indonesia (Nusa Tenggara, Jawa, Sumatera); Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia); Thailand; Cambodia; Vietnam; China (including Fujian, Guizhou, Hainan, Yunnan, Zhejiang}; Taiwan; Korea; Laos; Myanmar; India (including Assam); East Himalaya; Tibet; Turkey; Greece (Rhodes); Nicaragua; Honduras; El Salvador; Guatemala; Belize; Mexico; and eastern USA (from Texas to Connecticut). It is regarded as introduced/naturalised in Italy, Spain, Belgium and New York, USA.[1] In cultivation they can be seen in warm temperate and subtropical climates around the world.
This genus is known in the fossil record from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary (age range: 99.7 to 0.781 million years ago).[5] The genus was much more widespread in the Tertiary, but has disappeared from Europe due to extensive glaciation in the north and the east–west oriented Alps and Pyrenees, which have served as a blockade against southward migration. It has also disappeared from western North America due to climate change, and also from the unglaciated (but nowadays too cold) Russian Far East. There are several fossil species of Liquidambar, showing its relict status today.
Uses
The wood is used for furniture, interior finish, paper pulp, veneers and baskets of all kinds. The heartwood once was used in furniture, sometimes as imitation mahogany or Circassian walnut. It is used widely today in flake and strand boards. Sweetgum is a foodplant for various Lepidopteracaterpillars, such as the gypsy moth. The American sweetgum is widely planted as an ornamental, within its natural range and elsewhere.
The hardened sap, or gum resin, excreted from the wounds of the sweetgum, for example, the American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), can be chewed on like chewing gum and has been long used for this purpose in the Southern United States.[4] The sap was also believed to be a cure for sciatica, weakness of nerves, etc.
In Traditional Chinese medicine, lu lu tong, or "all roads open," is the hard, spiky fruit of native sweetgum species. It first appeared in Chinese medical literature in Omissions from the Materia Medica, by Chen Cangqi, in 720 AD. Bitter in taste, aromatic, and neutral in temperature, lu lu tong is claimed to promote the movement of blood and qi, water metabolism and urination, expels wind, and unblocks the channels. It is supposedly an ingredient in formulas for epigastric distention or abdominal pain, anemia, irregular or scanty menstruation, low back or knee pain and stiffness, edema with difficult urination, or nasal congestion.[6]
In the fall/autumn, the trees drop their hard, spiky seedpods by the hundreds, which can become a serious nuisance on pavements and lawns. Some US cities have expedited permits to remove liquidambar trees.[7]
Gallery
Foliage of Liquidambar orientalis
Sweetgum fall foliage and seedpods, Brooklyn, New York
Sweetgum seed pods in Michigan during winter
Closeup on a sweetgum seed pod
References
^ abcd"Liquidambar L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
^ abcde. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
^RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN978-1405332965.
^ abcPeterson, Lee Allen (1977). Edible Wild Plants. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 214–215. ISBN0-395-31870-X.
Hsu, E.; Andrews, S. (2005). (PDF). International Dendrology Society Yearbook. 2004: 11–45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-22. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
Svenning, Jens-Christian (July 2003). "Deterministic Plio-Pleistocene extinctions in the European cool-temperate tree flora". Ecology Letters. 6 (7): 646–653. doi:10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00477.x.
University of Florida IFAS Extension – Liquidambar styraciflua: Sweetgum (accessed: 09 SEP 2018)
May 09, 2023
liquidambar, similarly, named, topics, liquid, amber, disambiguation, commonly, called, sweetgum, star, redgum, satin, walnut, american, storax, only, genus, flowering, plant, family, altingiaceae, species, they, were, formerly, often, treated, hamamelidaceae,. For similarly named topics see Liquid Amber disambiguation Liquidambar commonly called sweetgum 2 star gum in the UK 3 gum 2 redgum 2 satin walnut 2 or American storax 2 is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species 1 They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae They are native to Southeast and east Asia the eastern Mediterranean and eastern North America They are decorative deciduous trees that are used in the wood industry and for ornamental purposes LiquidambarTemporal range late Cretaceous Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NSweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua Scientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade EudicotsOrder SaxifragalesFamily AltingiaceaeGenus LiquidambarL Type speciesLiquidambar styracifluaL Synonyms 1 Altingia Noronha Cathayambar Harms Nakai Sedgwickia Griff Semiliquidambar H T Chang Contents 1 Etymology 2 Species 2 1 Extant species 2 2 Fossils 3 Description 4 Distribution 5 Fossil records 6 Uses 7 Gallery 8 References 9 External linksEtymology EditBoth the scientific and common names refer to the sweet resinous sap liquid amber exuded by the trunk when cut Species EditExtant species Edit Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution Liquidambar acalycina Chang s sweetgum central amp southern ChinaLiquidambar cambodiana Sdey CambodiaLiquidambar caudata Fujian and Zhejiang China Liquidambar chinensis south China to VietnamLiquidambar chingii south China to Vietnam Liquidambar excelsa Indonesia to Tibet Liquidambar formosana Chinese sweetgum or Formosan sweetgum Vietnam Laos China Taiwan and Korea Liquidambar gracilipes southeast ChinaLiquidambar multinervis north Guizhou ChinaLiquidambar obovata Hainan China Liquidambar orientalis Oriental sweetgum or Turkish sweetgum southwest Turkey and Rhodes GreeceLiquidambar poilanei VietnamLiquidambar siamensis Southeast Asia to China Liquidambar styraciflua American sweetgum eastern North America from Connecticut USA to Nicaragua Liquidambar yunnanensis southeast Yunnan China to VietnamFossils Edit Liquidambar changii Miocene Washington state North America Description EditStereo imageLeft frame Right frame Parallel view Cross eye view Seed pods from Liquidambar tree They are all large deciduous trees 25 40 metres 82 131 ft tall with palmately 3 to 7 lobed leaves arranged spirally on the stems and length of 12 5 to 20 centimetres 4 9 to 7 9 in having a pleasant aroma when crushed Their leaves can be many colors such as bright red orange yellow and even purple 4 Mature bark is grayish and vertically grooved 4 The flowers are small produced in a dense globular inflorescence 1 2 centimetres 0 39 0 79 in diameter pendulous on a 3 7 centimetres 1 2 2 8 in stem The fruit is a woody multiple capsule 2 4 centimetres 0 79 1 57 in in diameter popularly called a gumball containing numerous seeds and covered in numerous prickly woody armatures possibly to attach to fur of animals The woody biomass is classified as hardwood L styraciflua fruits on stem with seeds to the side At higher latitudes Liquidambars are among the last of trees to leaf out in the spring and also among the last of trees to drop its leaves in the fall autumn turning multiple colors Fall autumn colors are most brilliant where nights are chilly but some cultivars color well in warm climates Distribution EditSpecies within this genus are native to Southeast and east Asia western Mediterranean and eastern North America 1 Countries and regions in which they occur are Indonesia Nusa Tenggara Jawa Sumatera Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia Thailand Cambodia Vietnam China including Fujian Guizhou Hainan Yunnan Zhejiang Taiwan Korea Laos Myanmar India including Assam East Himalaya Tibet Turkey Greece Rhodes Nicaragua Honduras El Salvador Guatemala Belize Mexico and eastern USA from Texas to Connecticut It is regarded as introduced naturalised in Italy Spain Belgium and New York USA 1 In cultivation they can be seen in warm temperate and subtropical climates around the world Fossil records Edit Fossil leaf of Liquidambar from Pliocene of Italy This genus is known in the fossil record from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary age range 99 7 to 0 781 million years ago 5 The genus was much more widespread in the Tertiary but has disappeared from Europe due to extensive glaciation in the north and the east west oriented Alps and Pyrenees which have served as a blockade against southward migration It has also disappeared from western North America due to climate change and also from the unglaciated but nowadays too cold Russian Far East There are several fossil species of Liquidambar showing its relict status today Uses EditThe wood is used for furniture interior finish paper pulp veneers and baskets of all kinds The heartwood once was used in furniture sometimes as imitation mahogany or Circassian walnut It is used widely today in flake and strand boards Sweetgum is a foodplant for various Lepidoptera caterpillars such as the gypsy moth The American sweetgum is widely planted as an ornamental within its natural range and elsewhere The hardened sap or gum resin excreted from the wounds of the sweetgum for example the American sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua can be chewed on like chewing gum and has been long used for this purpose in the Southern United States 4 The sap was also believed to be a cure for sciatica weakness of nerves etc In Traditional Chinese medicine lu lu tong or all roads open is the hard spiky fruit of native sweetgum species It first appeared in Chinese medical literature in Omissions from the Materia Medica by Chen Cangqi in 720 AD Bitter in taste aromatic and neutral in temperature lu lu tong is claimed to promote the movement of blood and qi water metabolism and urination expels wind and unblocks the channels It is supposedly an ingredient in formulas for epigastric distention or abdominal pain anemia irregular or scanty menstruation low back or knee pain and stiffness edema with difficult urination or nasal congestion 6 In the fall autumn the trees drop their hard spiky seedpods by the hundreds which can become a serious nuisance on pavements and lawns Some US cities have expedited permits to remove liquidambar trees 7 Gallery Edit Foliage of Liquidambar orientalis Sweetgum fall foliage and seedpods Brooklyn New York Sweetgum seed pods in Michigan during winter Closeup on a sweetgum seed podReferences Edit a b c d Liquidambar L Plants of the World Online Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Retrieved 24 March 2021 a b c d e USDA GRIN Taxonomy Archived from the original on 2012 09 21 Retrieved 2011 11 14 RHS A Z encyclopedia of garden plants United Kingdom Dorling Kindersley 2008 p 1136 ISBN 978 1405332965 a b c Peterson Lee Allen 1977 Edible Wild Plants Boston Massachusetts Houghton Mifflin Company pp 214 215 ISBN 0 395 31870 X Fossilworks Bensky Clavey amp Stoger 2004 Sunnyvale CA Tree Removal sunnyvale ca gov Retrieved 2021 01 25 Bensky D Clavey Stoger Erich 2004 Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica Eastland Press ISBN 978 0 939616 42 8 Fergus Charles 2002 Trees of Pennsylvania and the Northeast Stackpole Books pp 160 162 ISBN 978 0 8117 2092 2 Ind Eng Chem Process Des Dev 1985 24 3 pp 836 844 Hsu E Andrews S 2005 Tree of the year Liquidambar PDF International Dendrology Society Yearbook 2004 11 45 Archived from the original PDF on 2017 10 22 Retrieved 2017 10 26 Svenning Jens Christian July 2003 Deterministic Plio Pleistocene extinctions in the European cool temperate tree flora Ecology Letters 6 7 646 653 doi 10 1046 j 1461 0248 2003 00477 x External links Edit Media related to Liquidambar at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Liquidambar at Wikispecies Highlights of American Chemical Society meeting in Atlanta American Chemical Society at the Wayback Machine archived 2007 06 07 University of Florida IFAS Extension Liquidambar styraciflua Sweetgum accessed 09 SEP 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Liquidambar amp 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