Sweet Gum Tree Bark Identification

The bark on the trunk is light gray in color with deep rounded ridges.

Sweet gum tree bark identification. This tree may also be found in mixed woodlands. Pockets of a white crystalline substance develop with the tissues. Be sure to check the trunk for any suspicious growths from time to time. The leaves of a maple tree are very distinct but that shape does not belong to maple leaves alone a number of broadleaf trees have maple like leaves.

This resin is sometimes called liquid amber because of its golden color and sweet odor. Sweet gum leaves are glossy and dark green in the summer. In some trees especially in the northern part of the range the bark on the. In height and 4 ft.

The alternate palmate shiny leaves have usually five pointed finely. This list includes sycamore yellow poplar and sweetgum trees. Wood rot affects many tree species and they include mushroom like fungi called shelf fungi which protrude from the sweet gum tree s bark. In severe cases wood rot can cause a tree to fall over.

Native americans and pioneers also used the sap for a number of medicinal purposes. Like the maple tree these species have leaves whose ribs or veins radiate out from a single stalk or petiole attachment in a palmate pattern that is the lobes resemble a set of. The american sweet gum tree was so named because of the amber colored resinous sweet sap that was scraped from the inside of the bark to produce a chewing gum like substance. Experts speculate that raising the soil grade around the tree by drought or other environmental stress fosters.

Trees are the backbone of any good landscape plan. Trees vary in height the shape of their canopies type of foliage fall color flowers or fruit as well as other. The tree looks as if a can of oil has been poured on the bark. This type of rot causes roots to die which can stunt the tree s growth and cause early fall colors of its leaves.

Sweetgum redgum star leaved gum alligator wood and gumtree habitat. Along the rivers of the south eastern united states sweet gums exceed 125 ft. Sweet gum a tree of the witch hazel family hamamelidaceae native of the eastern united states also mexico and central america. Sweetgum is a pioneer species often found after an area has been logged or clearcut and one of the most common tree species in the eastern united states.

The star like leaf has 5 or 7. Inside the tree the inner bark shows a dark reddish brown stain. Sweetgum grows in moist soils of valleys and lower sloped areas. Infected trees show undernourished foliage the ends of branches may begin to die back.

Facts on the sweet gum tree.