The Liquidambar is thriving in the lower yard here in the East Bay. Its leaves are shaped almost like a maple leaf, and the leaves sometimes quake like an aspen leaf because of their long petioles. The tree is bare from January to late April (we often wonder whether it has died), and then puts forth it beautiful fresh leaves in May. In fall, the leaves turn red, providing wonderful fall color.
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| Liquidambar |
Liquidambar (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a long-lived, deciduous tree that grows to 50 to 150 feet (15-45 m) tall at maturity. It is also known as American sweetgum, and is native to the southeastern United States, and regions of Mexico and Central America. It is not native to California, but grows well as an ornamental plant. It is a nitrogen fixer and can tolerate various types of soil, including our clay soil.
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| Liquidambar in early summer |
Liquidambar leaves are star-shaped with five long-pointed, saw-toothed lobes and long petioles. The brown bark is deeply furrowed into narrow scaley plates or ridges. Young trees have long, conical crowns; while mature trees have round, spreading crowns. Liquidambar is monoecious with the male flowers in several clusters and the female flowers hanging at the end of the same stalk. The tree begins to produce seed when 20 to 30 years. The ball-shaped fruits contain many individual seed-bearing sections. So far our tree does not produce seeds that I can tell, which means it is still young or I have not identified the tree correctly.
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| Liquidambar in fall |
I value our liquidambar tree for its lovely green leaves, lacy shade pattern, and fall interest. Learning that it can grow up to 150 feet tall, live for 400 years, and be a fire danger when planted less than 15 feet from a structure does give me pause. I'll definitely confer with our arborist for recommendations about shaping the tree and possibly lowering the crown. In the meantime, we can enjoy its loveliness in the landscape.
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