VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Liquidambar styraciflua | Sweetgum 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Sweetgum is primarily used for lumber, veneer, and plywood.  The lumber
is used to make boxes, crates, furniture, interior trim, and millwork.
The veneer is used primarily for crates, baskets, and interior woodwork.
Sweetgum is also used for crossties and fuel, and small amounts go into
fencing, excelsior, and pulpwood [37,42].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Sweetgum has moderate value as a winter browse [5].  In the Oconee
National Forest of Georgia, sweetgum was lightly to moderately browsed
by white-tailed deer during the fall and winter [19].  The seeds are
eaten by birds, squirrels, and chipmunks [33].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Sweetgum is relatively high in protein and caloric content.  Mean
nutrient seasonal values for sweetgum on unburned plots in southern
forests were as follows [27]:

                      crude    N-free      
    protein    fat    fiber    extract    ash    phosphorus    calcium
Sp   10.76     2.78    9.08     58.49     3.84     6.13        0.63
Su    7.00     2.78   12.09     59.39     3.73     0.07        0.86
F     5.74     3.09   11.08     59.72     5.33     0.06        1.28
W     4.42     2.51   20.23     54.64     3.21     0.06        1.70 


COVER VALUE : 
Sweetgum snags are used as breeding sites for a variety of birds and
mammals [13].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Sweetgum stem cuttings have been successfully planted for streambank
protection and reclamation of sites disturbed by coal strip mining
[29,46].

Sweetgum growth and survival was good when planted on favorable sites
but decreased when seedlings were planted concurrently with ground cover
or in previously established cover of grasses and legumes on mined sites
in southeastern Indiana [3,8].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Medicinally, sweetgum is known as "copalm balsam" and the resinous gum
is used extensively in Mexico and Europe as a substitute for storax.
Various ointments and syrups are prepared from the resinous gum and are
used in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhea.  The gum is sometimes
chewed by children, and it is also used as a perfuming agent in soap
[45].

The beautiful red and yellow color variations of sweetgum's autumn
foliage make it highly prized as an ornamental [33,45].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Sweetgum's ability to sprout quickly and persistently makes it one of the
most serious competitors of pine seedlings in southeastern forests.
Silvicultural practices have called for the control of sweetgum in areas
where it competes heavily with pine seedlings [49].  Basal applications
of Garlon 4 top-killed 81 percent of 2 inch (5 cm) d.b.h or smaller
stems [35,36].

Related categories for Species: Liquidambar styraciflua | Sweetgum