Liquidambar

Liquidambar
Temporal range:
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Altingiaceae
Genus: Liquidambar
L.
Type species
Liquidambar styraciflua
L.
Synonyms
  • Altingia Noronha
  • Cathayambar (Harms) Nakai
  • Sedgwickia Griff.
  • Semiliquidambar H.T.Chang

Liquidambar, commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only 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.