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Liquidambar styraciflua
It is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves and its hard, spiked fruits. The flowers are typically about 1–1.5 inches in diameter and are covered with rusty hairs. The flowers are unisexual and greenish in color.
Very common here in the southeast. This one is growing in my backyard in a deciduous forest in the midlands of South Carolina.
Sweetgum is used principally for lumber, veneer, plywood, slack cooperage, fuel, and pulpwood. Its wood is bright reddish brown (with the sapwood nearly white), heavy, straight, satiny, and close-grained, but not strong. It takes a beautiful polish, but warps badly in drying. It is too liable to decay for outdoor use. Sweetgum is used principally for lumber, veneer, plywood, slack cooperage, fuel, and pulpwood.
Spotted on Mar 20, 2011
Submitted on Jan 21, 2013
1 Comment
Very nice great info :)