Sweet Gum Balls!

Ok, so this sounds like the name of some really "bad-for-you" candy recipe! But it is not.. Sweet Gum Balls are the common name for the seed pods of the Sweet Gum Tree. This tree does have another name..one of those humongous, unpronouncible names that are given to things just so scientists can sound intelligent. These names don't amount to a hill of beans to most of us. Liquidambar Styraciflua..the name just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? It would take the better part of a day to get the correct pronunciation and if we all went around calling a tree by that name, we might as well give up on doing anything else. Sweet Gum sounds a lot better and is a lot quicker to say. That settled, I trekked to the mailbox this afternoon and on the way home, I found quite a number of the seed pods from the Sweet Gum Tree on the ground. Sweet Gum Balls! These are about one inch in diameter and covered with prickly points. The seed pods can hurt like crazy if you are unfortunate enough to step on one while barefooted! I can remember as a kid, I was always ecstatic when I would find a treasure trove of these happy, little pods! My Aunt Marie had shown me how to glue toothpicks in the holes and paint or sprinkle with glitter to create some really neat Christmas ornaments! Well, it is a bit late for Christmas ornaments this year, but I picked up a handful just for old time's sake. They will sit in the basket with the other dried pods until I,on a whim, start poking toothpicks in them!

The Sweet Gum Tree is a big, ole tree..growing up to a hundred feet in height! The trunks can get to about three feet in diameter so this is not a tree that you really want in a flower garden! They mainly grow near creek beds but can take over a pasture in just a few years. The leaves are almost star-like with five pointy lobes. They are bright green in Spring and Summer, but come Fall, the leaves turn brilliant red. A nice thing about the leaves though, is the fact that they are aromatic..if you crush a few in your hand, they release a very pleasant aroma! The flowers of the tree are nondescript but the Gum Balls are so interesting in shape that they make up for the no-show blossoms. Squirrels, flying squirrels and birds all eat the tiny seeds that pop out of the holes in the ball. (You know..I might just head down the lane to pick up some more Sweet Gum Balls..I think I might make some ornaments!)