Skip to content
Liquidambar

File:CopalmeDAmerique.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ183543· pop 38· linked from 263 articles

Liquidambar

Sign in to save

Liquidambar, commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only extant genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated as a part of the Hamamelidaceae. They are native to southeast and east Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and North America. They are decorative deciduous trees that are used in the wood industry and for ornamental purposes.

OverviewAI-generated

Liquidambar is a genus within the plant kingdom Plantae, classified under the phylum Tracheophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Saxifragales, and family Altingiaceae. The genus has existed since approximately 100 million years ago. One species within this group is commonly known as American sweetgum.

The genus has been introduced to Belgium, India, Italy, New York, and Spain. Biological records indicate presence in Mexico, the United States, and Honduras, with specimens held by institutions including UACH, USNM, UCMP, INECOL, and IBUNAM.

Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, iNaturalist, PubMed, Gbif Occ, Plants of the World, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

American sweetgum

GENUS

  1. KingdomPlantae
  2. PhylumTracheophyta
  3. ClassMagnoliopsida
  4. OrderSaxifragales
  5. FamilyAltingiaceae
Native toAlabama, Arkansas, Assam, Bangladesh, Belize, Cambodia, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Connecticut, East Aegean Is., East Himalaya
Observations111,198
Observations recorded112,110

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records
354
With media
205
Family
Altingiaceae
Collections
UACH, USNM, UCMP, INECOL, IBUNAM, BRIT
Recorded in
Mexico, United States, Honduras

Research

349 papers

via PubMed

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

12 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Species
  • Extant species
  • Fossils
  • Description
  • Distribution
  • Fossil records
  • Uses
  • Gallery
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links

Liquidambar, commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only extant genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated as a part of the Hamamelidaceae. They are native to southeast and east Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and North America. They are decorative deciduous trees that are used in the wood industry and for ornamental purposes.

==Etymology== Both the scientific and common names refer to the sweet resinous sap (liquid amber) exuded by the trunk when cut.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Liquidambar” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (35)