Poisonous Sweet Gum Tree Balls
The sweetgum tree liquidambar styraciflua produces an extremely spiked capsule containing one or two seeds in the summer.
Poisonous sweet gum tree balls. This plant s genus. On our typical route there are 3 trees that bear these weird little balls. The tree s dark grayish brown twigs bear unusual corky ridges that lend the tree a peculiar angularity. I think my dog has eaten some sweet gum balls from a sweet gum tree.
On this early spring day the tree is still a skeleton although leaf buds are just beginning to emerge and dozens of sweet gum balls dangle from its naked branches like shriveled christmas tree ornaments. It is recognizable by the combination of its five pointed star shaped leaves and its hard spiked fruits. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern united states and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates. The sweet gum tree a forty foot tall sweet gum tree rises from the northeast corner of my back yard.
The balls of the trees are modified fruits that house the seeds until the balls ripen and release the seeds. I think she may have ingested them this morning. The round fruit balls are produced from fertilized flowers. Are these things harmful to dogs.
As a monoecious plant a sweet gum bears male and female flowers. Additionally the sweet gum s spiky gum balls. These seeds are food for about 25 species. Inside each spiky ball are up to 50 tiny winged seeds.
American sweetgum trees can be found throughout must of the eastern us. This means that only one tree is needed for the flowers to be pollinated and a single tree can produce the spiky fruits even when another sweet gum tree is not in sight. Although they may look like prickly little seeds sweet gum tree balls are actually the fruit of the tree. Simon has crashed his bike more than.
The spines become even spinier and holes open up to reveal seeds inside the balls. As previously mentioned sweetgum balls are the fruit of a medium to large size tree 65 155 feet tall with a trunk up to 6 feet across that can live for an extremely long time up to 400 years. Sweet gum balls start out plump and green but they dry as they mature. I ve twisted my ankle on them more than once.
We ve taken hundreds of walks in our neighborhood and have run into the same patches of spiky balls countless times. At this time of year sweet gums stand out. She always is trying to eat something but now she s very lethargic and is drinking lots of water. When the spikes open the seeds are.
It is currently classified in the plant family altingiaceae but was formerly considered a member of the hamamelidaceae.