Is Sweet Gum Tree A Hardwood
Timber from the sweet gum tree is a finely textured moderately heavy white colored sapwood with a light pink tint.
Is sweet gum tree a hardwood. Is sweet gum a hardwood or softwood. American sweetgum liquidambar styraciflua also known as american storax hazel pine bilsted redgum satin walnut star leaved gum alligatorwood or simply sweetgum is a deciduous tree in the genus liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern north america and tropical montane regions of mexico and central america sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the. As you learned earlier sweet gum is easily identifiable as it comes from a tree that produces star shaped leaves that contain five points along with spiked fruit. Sweetgum is a pioneer species often found after an area has been logged or clearcut and one of the most common tree species in the eastern united.
Sawing and drying sweet gum. Sweetgum redgum star leaved gum alligator wood and gumtree habitat. This tree may also be found in mixed woodlands. The sweet gum tree attracts wildlife including blue jays cardinals mourning doves squirrels chipmunks and luna moths.
Such trees can grow to be as old as 400 years old and they can reach towering heights of 150 feet. It tends to warp and stain easily. Hardwood lumber sweetgum fnr 300 w chip morrison sweetgum is a relatively hard uniform grained wood previously used for furniture and plywood. Sweetgum grows in moist soils of valleys and lower sloped areas.
Its heartwood is variable and ranges from dark brown to a lighter reddish brown. The yellowish colored sap technically called gum in a hardwood tree is exuded from bark wounds and can actually be boiled down and concentrated into a salve that will reportedly cure skin. Sweet gum wood though has been another story. Today the species usually has a wide.
It is low valued and currently rarely used except for industrial blocking and pallets. It did serve as a curative for confederate soldiers dysentery and was harvested during the second world war when asian supplies were cut off. It is considered a hardwood species with wood weighing 52 pounds per cubic.