Tree of the day: Liquidambar styraciflua, (American) sweetgum, Shinfield Road
Liquidambar styraciflua is a species of deciduous broadleaf flowering plants (in the Altingiaceae family), native to eastern North America and parts of Central America.
Liquidambar styraciflua is a species of deciduous broadleaf flowering plants (in the Altingiaceae family), native to eastern North America and parts of Central America. It has bright autumn colours and glossy star-shaped leaves with 5–7 pointed lobes (resembling those of a maple, but it is not of the same family). The tree grows to 20–35 metres high and has a grey-brown bark with deep ridges when it matures. It has a fruit of hard, spiky balls. The tree produces a fragrant resin which has been used in medicines and perfumes; the genus name Liquidambar refers to the resin it produces.
about this species
See more trees and close-up photos of this species
This photo is one of 9624 photos of 872 trees in 329 species
This website is a virtual arboretum, created for interest, education and beauty. It exhibits some of the thousands of trees, of both native and exotic species, that grow in Whiteknights Park, the main campus of the University of Reading. Many of them have been planted since the university arrived in 1947, but some have been here since the 19th century or earlier, when Whiteknights was the gardens and parkland of large houses. Nine of the trees are listed as the British Isles champions of their species in The Tree Register.
Please send any comments about this website to whiteknights-trees@reading.ac.uk.
The previous version of this website is here.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank: Rupert Taylor, Owen Johnson, Alastair Culham, Jonathan Mitchley, Marcus Wheeler, Benoît Vannière, Miguel Teixeira and Claire Hawkins for tree identifications; Brian Hunt and Trevor Smith for testing routes and contributing text; Dylan Parkes, Martin Watts, Emilija Rudzinskaite, Brian and Trevor for collaboration on the centenary project; Dan Hodson for useful code examples; Studio Lift for website style; Brian, Trevor and Nathanaël van Twillert for comments and suggestions on website user experience; Benoît, Marcus, Steve George, Brian, Trevor, the Friends of the University of Reading, and other friends for their encouragement during the development of the website; the University and its grounds staff for maintaining Whiteknights Park.