Plant of the Week! Liquidambar styraciflua Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua is a deciduous tree grown for its attractive leaves. Its common name, Sweetgum, refers to its sweet sap with a gummy consistency. Trees typically reach heights of 18 to 25m and have an oval to rounded crown when mature. The bark of the Sweetgum is greyish brown in colour and older trees have deeply furrowed, narrow ridges. Sweetgums are monoecious with male and female flowers appearing the spring. Female flowers give way to distinctive, fruit capsules that are 2.5 to almost 4cm in diameter. The spiny, ball-shaped structure is green at first, changing to brown over time and can persist into winter. Sweetgum leaves are star-shaped with five to seven lobes and when bruised, are aromatic. The glossy, deep green leaves of summer turn to magnificent purples, reds, oranges, and yellows, and are held late into the fall. L. styraciflua works well as a street tree or landscape tree, but needs adequate space for root growth. Falling fruit can be quite messy and may present a slipping hazard. Carefully selecting planting locations or the use of a fruitless cultivar can help to prevent this. Several Sweetgum trees can be found throughout Royal Botanical Gardens, including two specimens in the Urban Street Tree Display at RBG Centre and one located in the Medicinal Garden in Hendrie Park. rbg.ca/plantoftheweek #RBGpotw
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 19:11:03 +0000
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