Part 16

The WOOD is hard and close-grained. The trees do not grow large enough to be of commercial value.

An analgesic extract used in lotions and balms is obtained from the inner bark by distillation.

SWEETGUM (Redgum) Liquidambar styraciflua L.

Sweetgum is a valuable and sometimes troublesome forest tree in East Texas. It occurs on rich river bottoms and in swamps subject to frequent overflow, as well as on the dried uplands, as far west as the San Jacinto River Basin. The BARK is a light gray, roughened by corky scales, later becoming deeply furrowed. After the second year the twigs often develop corky projections of bark, which give them a winged appearance.

The simple, alternate star-shaped LEAF with its 5 to 7 points or lobes, is 5 to 7 inches across and aromatic. In the fall its coloring ranges from pale yellow through orange and red to a deep bronze.

The FLOWERS of both sexes appear on the same tree and open with the leaves. The FRUIT, a head an inch or more in diameter, is made up of many capsules with projecting spines. It hangs on the tree late into the winter.

The WOOD is moderately hard, close-grained, and not durable on exposure. The reddish-brown heartwood, which suggests the name red gum, is not present to any appreciable extent in logs under 16 inches in diameter. The wood is extensively used for flooring, interior finish, paper pulp, and veneers for baskets of all kinds.

In the uplands, this species competes aggressively with the more valuable Southern pines. The control of sweetgum is, therefore, a problem. This attractive species should be more widely planted for ornamental use.

AMERICAN SYCAMORE Plantanus occidentalis L.

American sycamore, also called planetree and buttonwood, is considered the largest hardwood tree in North America. It occurs throughout eastern Texas to Zavalla County. It is most abundant and reaches its largest size along streams and on rich bottomlands. It grows rapidly and occasionally attains a height of 140 to 170 feet and a diameter of 10 to 11 feet.

The BARK of the sycamore is a characteristic feature; on the younger trunk and large limbs it is smooth, greenish-gray in color. The outer bark of limbs and upper trunk flakes off in large patches and exposes the nearly white younger bark. Near the base of old trees, the bark becomes thick, dark brown and divided by deep furrows.

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, 4 to 7 inches long and about as broad; light green and smooth above, and paler below. The base of the petiole is hollow and in falling off exposes the winter bud. The multiple FRUIT forms a ball about 1 inch in diameter, which hangs on its flexible peduncle—3 to 5 inches long. During early spring the fruit ball breaks up, and the small nutlets are scattered widely by the wind.

The WOOD is hard and moderately strong, but decays rapidly in the ground. It is used for butchers’ blocks, tobacco boxes, furniture, and interior finish.

HAWTHORN (Haw) Crataegus L.

Hawthorn, as treated here, represents about 30 different species and varieties distributed throughout the state. Members of the group occur on the poorest and richest soils, on the shallowest and deepest, and on the limestone hills as well as on the rich bottom and swamp lands. Most of the forms have a common likeness in possessing thorns and bearing white blossoms and red or yellow fruit. Some species are planted as ornamental trees, but otherwise the group is of little commercial value.

The BARK is generally thin, gray in color, and on the old stems broken up into thin, narrow scales.

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, mostly oval or wedge-shaped, notched on the edges, and usually from 2 to 3 inches long.

The FLOWERS are white, some fragrant and others with a slightly unpleasant odor; they appear in early spring. The FRUIT varies from globular to oblong, from ¼ to ¾ inch in diameter; some when ripe have a pulpy, sweet, edible flesh, surrounding from 1 to 5 bony seeds.

The WOOD is strong, tough, heavy, hard, but rarely used for any purpose.

Many species of birds are attracted to these trees and bushes by the fruit and for the protection offered for nesting. Blueberry hawthorn, C. brachyacanthu, fruit ripens in the late summer and is valuable for deer food. The fruit of most species ripens in the fall, and one or two varieties yield a fruit highly prized for making jelly.

RIVERFLAT HAWTHORN (Mayhew) Crataegus opaca Hook. and Arn.

This species is a native of East Texas, being found as far west as the Trinity River. It grows along rivers at the edges of swamps and ponds, where water stands a part of the year. These trees often form extensive thickets. The FRUIT of this haw, unlike other Texas haws, matures in late April or May. After the fruit is gone, it is more difficult to distinguish it from other haws. It is of low, spreading habit, sometimes becoming a tree 20 to 30 feet high and about a foot in diameter. It usually bears a few thorns about 1 inch long on branches two years old.

On old trees the BARK is deeply fissured and divided into dark brown, persistent scales. The wood has no commercial value.

The LEAVES are about 2 inches long, pointed, narrowing toward the stem, finely toothed from the middle of the tip, sometimes slightly lobed, dull green, and rather downy beneath.

The FLOWERS appearing in March are the largest of Crataegus, 1 inch in diameter, white, and borne in clusters of only 2 or 3. The FRUIT, an unusually large haw, is sometimes nearly an inch in diameter. When fully ripe, these haws are scarlet, lustrous, mellow, and pleasantly acid. The fruit is gathered in large quantities for making mayhaw jelly.

MEXICAN PLUM Prunus mexicana S. Wats.

This common wild plum is a small tree reaching 20 to 25 feet in height and 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Uncommonly it attains only large shrub size.

The BARK is dark, varying from gray to nearly black. There are curling scales on young branches but on old trunks the bark becomes rough and deeply furrowed.