These trees typically have a straight trunk with the branches extending outward at right angles. This type of gum is used in medicine, tanning, and dyes, but not as chewing gum. Blackgum, also called black tupelo, tupelo gum, or just tupelo, is a tree that loves to grow in water and water-soaked soils. Sweet Gum trees have interlocked grain that will result in potentially high amounts of lumber warping during the drying process regardless of saw method. The lumber from the sapwood is called sap gum and the lumber from the heartwood is called red gum. The heartwood produces boards of a medium light brown with a reddish tinge. The hurricanes don't even harm them. Oil from gum tree leaves is used in many medications, and some people even like to chew on hardened chunks of sap. There is also Kino, which is the name of plant gum produced by plants and trees including Eucalyptus. ¶ As to color, the sapwood of the gum tree makes a rather light colored wood with occasional dark brown streaks. Common Names: sweetgum, redgum, star-leaved gum, alligator-wood, and gumtree Habitat: Sweetgum grows in moist soils of valleys and lower sloped areas. Let me know what can be done with this wood, it's beautiful! The gum from these trees has been used as chewing gum and even employed to concoct medicines and salves to cure a variety of ailments, treat wounds and serve as an important ingredient in adhesives. At one time, the tree's twigs were even used as toothbrushes. I believe the trees in the Sweet Gum Woods are the Liquidambar formosana, or the Chinese sweet gum. The only problem that most people have with the wood is that it takes an incredible amount of … I have about five sweet gum trees in my yard. Sweet gum wood, though, has been another story. In fact, the genus Nyssa is the name of a water nymph. As for sweet gum wood, you can rest assured that you are getting a fine burning wood because it is cable of producing 20.6 million BTUs per cord. This one surprised me! This tree may also be found in mixed woodlands . They are easy to spot just look down at the ground under the tree it will be full of nasty gum balls. This is pretty impressive for firewood. Thanks for watching! The leaves of a maple tree are quite distinct, but that leaf shape does not belong to maple trees alone. On the bright side gum trees are great shade trees and they are almost indestructible. Honey is made by bees that visit the trees, and many species have wood that's useful as lumber. Gum trees, which are readily identifiable by their smooth or stringy bark and lance-shaped leaves, have a variety of applications. It did serve as a curative for Confederate soldiers' dysentery, and was harvested during the Second World War when Asian supplies were cut off. Sweetgum wood is used to make veneer, plywood, cabinets and furniture. After initial drying, Sweet Gum wood is stable and should not be expected to move much. Sycamore, yellow-poplar, and sweet gum trees share a similar broadleaf structure. Despite the world demand for liquidambar through the centuries, little was done with the yield of the North American sweet gum tree. Nyssa sylvatica grows to 20–25 metres (66–82 ft) tall, rarely to 35 metres (115 ft), with a trunk diameter of 50–100 centimetres (20–39 in), rarely up to 170 centimetres (67 in). gum bumelia, gum-elastic, woolybucket bumelia Leaf Type: Deciduous Texas Native: Firewise: Tree Description: A medium-sized tree, typically to 40 feet tall and a trunk to 12" in diameter, with short, stout, stiff branches that form a narrow, oval crown of dark green foliage. It produces a red color that oozes out large amounts, where it gets its name "red gum" and "blood wood." In the fall a gum trees leaves turn beautiful shades of gold.