''Liquidambar acalycina'', Chang’s sweet gum, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Altingiaceae (formerly Hamameliaceae), native to southern China. Growing to tall and broad. It is a medium-sized

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree with three-lobed maple-like leaves that turn red in autumn before falling. It is

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

, meaning both male and female flowers appear on the same plant. The flowers are insignificant, yellow/green in colour, and are followed by small gum-balls that persist on the tree until winter. The wood exudes a sweet-smelling resin when pierced, giving the tree its common name. ''Liquidambar acalycina'' is cultivated as an attractive ornamental tree for parks and gardens, and is hardy down to or less. It requires cultivation in reliably moist, acid to neutral soil in full sun or partial shade. The

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

'Burgundy Flush', with leaves opening purple, turning green, then burgundy red in autumn, has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Characteristics

Liquidambar acalycina is a deciduous tree that has a brown to black colored bark with a conical/pyramidal shape. It matures quickly to a medium height at about 10m in height, and 6m in width. The leaves have three lobes, making the tree similar to a

maple tree ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

. However, they are more star shaped than maple leaves. The leaves emerge with a burgundy color in spring, but as they grow and mature in summer, they become green, which indicates their increasing ability to

photosynthesize Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...

. When nearing fall, the leaves return to a red to purple color. During the months of April to May,

flowers begin to bud with yellow-green colors, but are insignificant for pollination in attracting pollinators. The fruit of this tree is a dark brown color. This tree serves as a shade tree for gardens. Liquidambar acalycina prefers soil that is acidic and clay-based.

Distribution

This tree is native to East Asia, specifically in Southeast China. Other species can be found in Southern China and the United States of America.

Disease and Infestation

This tree is generally stable in the specific climates in which it exists. However, some insects can infest the tree, such as webworms, bagworms,

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

leaf miner A leaf miner is any one of numerous species of insects in which the larval stage lives in, and eats, the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths (Lepidoptera), sawflies (Symphyta, the mother clade of wasps), ...

s, and borers. Other issues that some trees experience in this species are canker and bleeding

necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated dige ...

, which can become extreme. If the plant is growing in alkaline soils, the trees may experience iron chlorosis. Other issues include dark spots on leaves, and wood rot.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15236930 acalycina Flora of China