SWEET GUM

The sweet gum is a tall tree with a straight trunk that may reach five feet in diameter. The bark is light gray and roughly furrowed in mature trees. Twigs and young branches are covered with a cork-like substance that gives them a winged appearance.

The leaves of the sweet gum are star-shaped and have five to seven points. They are smooth in texture, ranging in color from the dark green of summer to yellow, orange, red and bronze in the fall. Resinous gum is collected which, like the leaves, is very aromatic.

The wood is valued in the lumber industry where it is used for veneers, flooring, and interior trim. Sweet gum grows in rich bottoms and swamps as well as the drier uplands. A fast grower, it is usually the first tree to spring up in cut-over woods.

The wood is round and stubbed with sharp spurs. Dark brown, hard and about an inch in diameter, it was the bane of small boys using push lawn mowers in days gone by; but, with today's power mowers, it is no obstacle. The small balls swing on long stems from the tree branches well into the winter. When they finally open, tiny half-inch winged seeds float down to start a new tree that is getting more popular every day as an ornamental.

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