Worplesdon Sweetgum

Scientific Name: Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Worplesdon’

Family: Hamamelidaceae

Origin: Eastern US

Why is it called Worplesdon Sweetgum? When the bark is peeled, a brown-yellow sap, or gum, comes out. Native American’s used that sap a chewing gum and as medicine. Worplesdon is a cultivar, or cultivated variety of the American Sweetgum

Common Names: American Sweetgum, Redgum, Sapgum

Mature Height: 50-60 feet

Mature Width/Spread: 30-40 feet

Leaves: Shiny dark green leaves that are star-shaped and have 5 to 7 long pointed lobes.

In the fall, the leaves become: fiery red, orange and purple from early September through late October before they fall

Did you know …

It is a commercial hardwood in the Southeast US and is used to manufacture fruit crates.
In the summer, the tree develops yellow -green spherical flower clusters that over time turn into bristly “gum-balls.”
Native Americans would use the tree sap to make teas and to treat dysentery and diarrhea.

Sources

https://plants.oaklandnursery.com/12130001/Plant/7450/Worplesdon_Sweet_Gum

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/liquidambar-styraciflua-worplesdon

http://newportarboretum.org/home/portfolio/worplesdon-sweetgum/

https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/liquidambar-styraciflua

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidambar_styraciflua

Photo Credit

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

PAGE INFORMATION WAS COMPILED AS PART OF NOAH WERNING’S 2020 EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT.