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Sweetgum

Liquidambar styraciflua

Found in swamps; floodplain and bottomland forests; moist forests; ponds, lakes and their shores; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

71
Strong

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height
60–100 feet
Spread
40–50 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 30 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
March to May
Fruiting season
August to September

Recorded in 61 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 205 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

40CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Liquidambar

  • Actias lunaLuna Moth
  • Callosamia prometheaPromethea Moth
  • Citheronia regalisRegal Moth
  • Eacles imperialisImperial Moth
  • Acronicta impletaYellow-Haired Dagger
  • Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
  • Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Callosamia securiferaSweetbay Silkmoth, Carolina Silk Moth
  • Cenopis canaGray Sparganothis Moth
Show all 40
  • Ceratonyx satanariaHorned Ceratonyx
  • Cleora sublunariaDouble-Lined Gray
  • Dasychira basiflavaYellow-Based Tussock Moth
  • Dasychira leucophaeaPeppered Tussock Moth
  • Ennomos magnariaMaple Spanworm Moth, Notchwing Geometer
  • Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
  • Euzophera semifuneralisAmerican Plum Borer
  • Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
  • Harrisimemna trisignataHarris's Three-Spot
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Hypagyrtis unipunctataOne-Spotted Variant
  • Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
  • Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
  • Malacosoma americanaEastern Tent Caterpillar
  • Malacosoma disstriaForest Tent Caterpillar
  • Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
  • Metaxaglaea viaticaRoadside Sallow
  • Nemoria elfaCypress Emerald
  • Nemoria saturibaBraided Emerald, Red-Spotted Emerald
  • Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
  • Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
  • Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
  • Paectes abrostoloidesLarge Paectes
  • Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
  • Phigalia strigatariaSmall Phigalia, Small Oak Looper
  • Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
  • Sciota uvinellaSweetgum Leafroller
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Dasychira atrivenosa
  • Phyllocnistis liquidambarisella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Liquidambar

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Liquidambar

  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Altingiaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Yellow, green or inconspicuous
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
September

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “March to May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Yellow, green or inconspicuous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “60–100 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “40–50 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Florida rankS5
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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