Starting with a flicker of colour and then accelerating to a conflagration, the Liquidambar styracifluas commonly known as Liquidamber or Sweetgum, provides one of the most eagerly anticipated autumnal displays in Shoyoen, Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden. However, there is much more to this fascinating tree than is immediately apparent.
Liquidambar styraciflua is a deciduous tree native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central America. It belongs to the Altingiaceae family and can live for four hundred years. It can grow anywhere between 10-15 metres in cultivation and up to 45 metres in the wild.
The name of the genus, Liquidamber is an allusion to the fragrant terebinthine juice or gum which exudes from the tree. The gum is said to smell of ambergris, a rare and exotic substance highly valued by high-end parfumiers and uniquely produced by sperm whales.
As the tree ages, the bark on its small branches grows in such a way as to create the appearance of plates or scales. This characteristic combined with the deeply fissured bark on the trunk may be what earned the tree, the nickname Alligator-wood.
While the starry five-pointed leaves of Liquidambar resemble those of some maples (Acer), Liquidambar is easily distinguished from Acer by its glossy, leathery leaves that are positioned singly (alternate), not in pairs (opposite) on the stems.
Liquidambar styraciflua is one of the most important commercial hardwoods in the Southeastern United States. It's heavy, straight, satiny, and close-grained, but not strong. It takes a beautiful polish, but warps badly in drying.
The long stemmed spiny fruit balls have earned a number of nicknames including "space bugs", "monkey balls" and "bommyknockers".
The Liquidambar styracifluas are a visual delight, don’t miss their spectacular autumn show.
By Ian McAlister & Karen Hagan