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Project Noah Nature School
Liquidambar styraciflua
Liquidambar styraciflua, commonly called the American sweetgum, sweet-gum, alligator-wood, American-storax, bilsted, red-gum, satin-walnut, or star-leaved gum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central America. Liquidambar styraciflua is commonly cultivated in Canada and the northernmost United States well north of its native range. For example, it grows well in Victoria and Vancouver in western British Columbia.
Yes they are. They get hard towards the end of the season and drop below the grass. They (jokingly) lay in wait for bare footed humans to pass near and then when one goes by they jump under your feet and poke their sharp pointy barbs under your feet. They really hurt. Rake them up when you can.
thanks MichaelEdward. I checked the photos, and they are all of the same tree to the best of my knowledge.
So is it the seed pods of the Liquidamber that are like land mines?
Is the second picture the same tree? Looks like a red maple. The seed pods are like land mines when one steps on them in bare feet in the spring and summer. Painful as could be.
Spotted on Oct 1, 2012
Submitted on Oct 3, 2012
