Is Sweet Gum A Hardwood Tree

Its heartwood is variable and ranges from dark brown to a lighter reddish brown.

Is sweet gum a hardwood tree.

As you learned earlier sweet gum is easily identifiable as it comes from a tree that produces star shaped leaves that contain five points along with spiked fruit. It did serve as a curative for confederate soldiers dysentery and was harvested during the second world war when asian supplies were cut off. Despite the world demand for liquidambar through the centuries little was done with the yield of the north american sweet gum tree. Because the sapwood is so wide only older mature trees will yield the darker redgum heartwood lumber.

Sweet gum trees are found throughout the eastern united states. The yellowish colored sap technically called gum in a hardwood tree is exuded from bark wounds and can actually be boiled down and concentrated into a salve that will reportedly cure skin. It is not an invasive species. Sapgum is widely available at low cost while redgum is more uncommon and prices can be in the mid range for a domestic hardwood with prices for figured and or quartersawn pieces costing more.

Sweet gum is a native species to the southeast. It s considered a valuable tree used for lumber and furniture production as well as for ornamental purposes. Hmmm that s not all true. Timber from the sweet gum tree is a finely textured moderately heavy white colored sapwood with a light pink tint.

American sweetgum liquidambar styraciflua also known as american storax hazel pine bilsted redgum satin walnut star leaved gum alligatorwood or simply sweetgum 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 sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the. Sweet gum wood though has been another story. I now fall sweet gum in early winter and let the logs lay sealed in the shade a couple of feet off the ground for several months. A sweet gum is a deciduous tree in the witch hazel family that ranges in height from 60 to 100 feet and has a narrow oval canopy.

A tree can appear to have balanced weight distribution in the crown but there s no way to know how the tree has responded to that stress. Look for the absolute straightest trunks with the least crotch wood. The liquidambar styraciflua growth rate is moderate to rapid. The wood has a unique reddish brown color with sapwood that s nearly white and black grain running through the hardwood.