IDENTIFICATION of the Liquidambar styraciflua

Scientific name:

Liquidambar styraciflua

Italian common name:

American Storax, Satin Walnut

Family:

Altingiaceae

Provenance:

native to Central-Eastern America, located in particular along the banks of the Mississippi, with offshoots also in Central America, where it is typical of the cloud forest.

Environment:

Large tree suitable for planting in large gardens and public parks. It is very resistant and requires minimal care.

Evergreen or deciduous:

deciduous

Toxicity:

It is not toxic

PLANT RECOGNITION of the Liquidambar styraciflua

Height:

25 – 35 m

Width (extension):

10-12 m

Bearing:

erect tree, dense and spreading crown that gives the plant a broad columnar appearance

Leaf:

caduche, a fillotassi alterna (a differenza di quelle, opposte, degli aceri a cui assomigliano), lungamente picciolate di colore verde e forma per lo più pentalobata; divengono gialle, rosse e arancio in autunno.

Flower:

unisexual gathered in separate male and female inflorescences, the plant is monoecious. The male flowers are devoid of perianth with many stamens, the female ones have only the calyx and inferior ovary. The female flowers, gathered in pendulous racemes, and male flowers in erect racemes, of a greenish-white color, not very showy.

Flowering:

March – May

Fruit:

It is a globose woody infructescence, up to 4 cm in size, which contains several dozen capsules. Each capsule contains 1 or 2 seeds. The infructescence, initially green, becomes woody and is thorny due to the persistence of the styles

Bark:

erect, densely branched, with a pyramidal crown, which becomes rounded as the years pass; the bark is grey-brown, deeply fissured and with tuberous excrescences as it ages.

Properties:

Indicated as an anti-stress, since it is capable of dispersing anger, intolerance and nervousness. It has sedative and calming effects, but at the same time it is a stimulant of the central nervous system to be used to improve memory and treat depression.

Perfume:

not

NEEDS

Manutenzione:

low

Exposure to light:

sunny, in direct contact with the sun’s rays, but it can also tolerate a semi-shaded position well

Soil type:

It adapts to any soil, although it prefers moist, rich, loose and well-drained, very deep soils. It lives well in acidic soils, but it also adapts to alkaline soils.

Soil acidity:

Ideal pH is between 5.8 and 6.2

Italian climatic area:

Present only in some north-eastern regions such as Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Emilia Romagna

Water needs:

Rustic plant that tolerates both dry and humid periods. It has no particular water needs and is only used if the plant is still young and where rainfall is too low.

Propagation:

seed or by cutting; cuttings are taken in spring or early autumn, and are rooted in a mixture of equal parts peat and sand; seeds are taken in autumn and stored for a few weeks in a cool, humid place, for example in the refrigerator in a plastic bag, before placing them in the ground, in a container.

Pruning:

The plant does not require pruning, other than growth – eliminating the branches that go inward – and routinely eliminating dry or damaged branches.

Illnesses:

Generally resistant, no significant pathologies have been reported on adult specimens, even if they can be affected by leafminer larvae and aphids.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Liquidambar styraciflua: the genus, Liquidambar, is a compound word formed from a Latin noun liquidus ‘liquid’ and an Arabic noun ambar ‘amber’. The species, styraciflua, means tree from which storax flows (a balm used in medicine and perfumery). Both names emphasize the characteristic of this essence of secreting a scented resinous substance of an amber color.

Annotations

A scented resin with an incense aroma is extracted from the plant, liquid amber (hence the Spanish name Liquidambar) also called storax, with a green/brown peat appearance, not to be confused with the black resin of Liquidambar orientalis. This resin, soft to the touch, can be placed on burning charcoal. The smoke that is formed is white and scented and once dissolved the fragrance can continue to be perceived for hours. Liquid amber is used in the cosmetics industry to fix perfumes, in the tanning industry and was once used as chewing gum.

In winter

Its appearance is also particular in the winter months, both for the wrinkled appearance of the branches and suberized twigs (which resemble cork) and for the presence of the hanging fruits which decorate the structure and profile of the tree throughout the cold period.

In the kitchen:

Its leaves are used in cooking to add flavour to dishes.