Sapgum Tree Information

Images of Sapgum:


Sapgum grows in the following 23 states and provinces:

Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia

Information about Sapgum:


More information about Sapgum may be found here.

The Liquidambar Styraciflua is commonly known as the Alligator-tree, Blisted, Copalm Balsam, Gum-wood, Opossum-tree, Redgum, Sapgum, Satin-walnut, Star-leaf Gum, Sweetgum as well as White Gum.

The currently accepted scientific name for sweetgum is Liquidambar styraciflua L. . Two forms of sweetgum are recognized in horticulture. The round-lobed American sweetgum, L. styraciflua forma rotundiloba Rehd., has three to five short, rounded lobes on the leaves. Weeping American sweetgum, L. styraciflua forma pendula Rehd., has pendulous branches forming an almost columnar head . There are no recognized subspecies or varieties.

Sweetgum grows from Connecticut southward throughout the East to central Florida and eastern Texas. It is found as far west as Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma and as far north as southern Illinois. It also grows in scattered locations in northeastern and central Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua . It is cultivated in Hawaii .

Some of the information provided here is attributed to:Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Liquidambar styraciflua. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). , available at the USDA Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) website