Sweet Gum Tree Seed Balls

Green in the spring they darken as autumn and winter pass and they fall from the sweetgum by the hundreds.

Sweet gum tree seed balls. These compound seed capsules are often confused with the seed heads of the. What are sweetgum balls. Just like leaves they must fall so the tree can prep for new growth. Many people think of sweet gum balls as a nuisance but they can be used to make many types of crafts.

Sweet gum balls are the seeds that fall from sweet gum trees. A fast growing tree the sweetgum offers plenty of shade while growing well in a vast range of soils and moisture levels. As previously mentioned sweetgum balls are the fruit of a medium to large size tree 65 155 feet tall with a trunk up to 6 feet across that can live for an extremely long time up to 400 years. By mid fall the balls are dead and seedless.

If you look very closely they are actually a bit scary looking they appear to be made of a collection of tiny dark brown bird beaks. The tradeoff for these perks is a source of aggravation for some gardeners. Chemical treatments however can stop a tree s fruit production which keeps the lawn free of that litter. The one major flaw of this deciduous tree is the hundreds of spiny woody.

These seeds are often called porcupine balls because they are covered in small barbs. Turns out they are the seed pods from the sweetgum tree. The barbs are carried to new locations when they latch onto animals fur. On this early spring day the tree is still a skeleton although leaf buds are just beginning to emerge and dozens of sweet gum balls dangle from its naked branches like shriveled christmas tree ornaments.

The sweet gum tree a forty foot tall sweet gum tree rises from the northeast corner of my back yard. The spiky clusters are actually balls of fruit with tiny seeds inside that birds and squirrels snack on. Round spiny fruits or balls that litter the ground making a simple walk across the yard a precarious one. Summer shade and vibrant fall leaf color are merits of the sweet gum tree liquidambar styraciflua.

Sweetgums are notably absent from magical and herbal tree lore which derives largely from europe. They are considered a powerful protection amulet. The only difference is sweetgum balls drop all fall and winter.