Sweetgum (Liquidambar)

This genus is native to the southeastern United States, not native to Oregon, and is currently not fully described on this website.

• Leaves: Easily identified by its 5- to 7-pointed, star-shaped leaves that change through a rainbow of colors in the fall. Simple, deciduous, and alternate.
  
• Fruit: a peculiar spiny ball, golfball-sized, that persists through winter on the tree; it is actually a round head of beaked capsules, each capsule containing one to several hard black seeds (winged or unwinged).
  
• Twigs: Develop thick, corky ridges
  

For more information on this tree, check here:

Dendrology at Virginia Tech: Searchable Fact Sheets

USDA Forest Service: Silvics of North American Tree Species