Leaves are alternate, palmately lobed, and star-shaped. Flowers are usually monoecious. Key to Liquidambar Species Leaves are palmately veined with big, star-shaped leaves.
Buds are darker than the twigs.
The sweetgum, also called redgum and liquidambar, is a handsome tree and native locally in southern Ohio. The sweetgum grows naturally from Connecticut to the southern United States. Another population occurs in Guatemala. In the swamps of the coastal plains it reaches heights of 120 feet and a diameter of 4 feet. In Ohio it occurs locally in Gallia, Lawrence, Scioto, Adams, Brown, and Green counties.