Poisonous Sweet Gum Tree Balls

When i m pulling a wagon full of kids they can make travel difficult.

Poisonous sweet gum tree balls. You painfully find them with your feet. It s called sweet. Despite these nuisances we always slow down to take a look and to collect the unusual alien balls we always end up with. The sweet gum tree is the sand spur of the forest.

In a few weeks the sweet gum s glossy green leaves five pointed stars. Are these things harmful to dogs. Additionally the sweet gum s spiky gum balls hang conspicuously from the tree s smaller. She s a flat coated retriever about 75 lbs.

It is currently classified in the plant family altingiaceae but was formerly considered a member of the hamamelidaceae. Perhaps it is time for some rehabilitation. Sweet gum trees also have unusual fruit. Fill to the top with alcohol such as vodka or pure grain alcohol and let it steep for 6 weeks.

It is recognizable by the combination of its five pointed star shaped leaves and its hard spiked fruits. The tree s dark grayish brown twigs bear unusual corky ridges that lend the tree a peculiar angularity. I ve twisted my ankle on them more than once. The tradeoff for these perks is a source of aggravation for some gardeners.

This plant s genus. Hundreds more lie scattered throughout the grass and spill out onto the alleyway asphalt where most are flattened by car wheels. 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. Find an instructional recipe here.

Some folks have experimented with just gathering the infertile seeds from opened balls which is time consuming. Department of agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9. She always is trying to eat something but now she s very lethargic and is drinking lots of water. To tincture sweet gum simply gather green unripe sweet gum balls cut them up or smash them with a small hammer and place them in a quart jar.

The vicious seed pods have impaled many a forager and has done much to ruin the sweet gum s reputation. Sweet gum is hardy in u s. In 2015 the city of chesterfield branded the trees a nuisance and hazardous which required homeowners to maintain a ball free path on the sidewalks and part of the street the trees may be beautiful but sweet gum balls are known to block up sewer inlets and many complain about tripping and falling on them. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern united states and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates.

Simon has crashed his bike more than once when his front tire hit one. A forty foot tall sweet gum tree rises from the northeast corner of my back yard. Despite its name the gum is not sweet. Round spiny fruits or balls that litter the ground making a simple walk across the yard a precarious one.

They are hard round balls about 1 1 2 inches in diameter and covered with sharp little bristles that can hurt a dog s paws. On our typical route there are 3 trees that bear these weird little balls. The only edible part of the tree is the dried sap which makes a fragrant bitter chewing gum. I think she may have ingested them this morning.