Red Gum or Sweet Gum

Description

View of a red gum canopy.

This is composed of about 4 species native to North and Central America, and Asia. The North American species is L. styraciflua. All species are identical at the cellular level. Liquidambar styraciflua is native to the southeastern United States to just west of the Mississippi River. The trees attain heights of 100 ft with diameters of 3 ft. Liquidambar sapwood is white to light pink and the heartwood is a light to dark reddish brown. The grain is interlocked, making it difficult to season and work. The wood is hard, stiff, and heavy and works well with most tools under most applications. It is used for fuel, lumber (boxes, crates, dimension stock, furniture parts and fixtures), plywood, pulpwood, railroad ties, slack cooperage and veneer.

Other Common Names

Other common names include alligator-tree, alligatorwood, ambarwood, american mahogany, blisted, delta redgum, figured gum, gum, gumtree, gumwood, hazel, hazel pine, hazelwood, incense-tree, liquidambar, mulberry, opossum-tree, plain redgum, quartered redgum, redgum, sapgum, sapwood hazel pine, satin walnut, satinwood, splint sapgum, splinted sapgum, starleaf gum, sycamore gum, whitegum.

Close view of red gum leaves on a branch.

Tech Sheet

https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/sweetgum

Characteristics

Characteristics found in the Red Gum (Liquidambar spp.):

  • Diffuse porous
  • Scalariform perforations (11-50)
  • IV pits linear
  • Spirals in vessel member tips
  • Rays 1-4 seriate & homocellular to heterocellular

Slides (Click on each image to view a larger image)

WOOD SLIDES

Microscope slide of transverse section of sweet gum. Arrows point to the growth ring boundary.
Microscope slide of radial section of sweetgum wood. Arrows point. To sclera form perforation plates and the ray.
Microscope slide of radial section of sweet gumwood under high magnification. Arrows point to the scalariform perforation plates and ray.
Microscope slide of tangential section of sweetgum wood. Arrows .2 raise and linear inner vessel pits.
Microscope slide of tangential section of sweetgum wood. Arrows point to linear type, inner vessel pits and rays.
Microscope slide of radial section of sweet gum wood at high magnification. There is .2 vessel elements with spiral thickenings.
Microscope slide of radio section of sweet gum wood. Arrows .2 scalera form perforation plates within the vessels.
Microscope slide of tangential section of sweet gum wood. Arrows point to the rays and linear-type inter-vessel pits.

CHARCOAL SLIDES

Microscope slide transverse section of sweet gum charcoal arrows point to growth ring boundaries
Microscope slide of radial section of sweet gum charcoal at high magnification. Arrows point to Scalariform perforation plates.
Microscope slide of radial section of sweet gum charcoal at high magnification. Arrows point to the rays.
Microscope slide of tangential surface of sweet gum charcoal at high magnification. Arrows point to the rays and scalariform perforation plates.