Gum Tree Spiky Balls
At first green and somewhat fuzzy looking they dry into brown bristly balls.
Gum tree spiky balls. As a monoecious plant a sweet gum bears male and female flowers. These compound seed capsules are often confused with the seed heads of the. A full grown sweet gum changing color. The spiky clusters are actually balls of fruit with tiny seeds inside that birds and squirrels snack on.
Burrs small rocks and yes sweet gum tree balls can cling to the fine hairs between the pads and injure the dog. Sycamore trees platanus spp have round 1 1 2 inch diameter spiky looking balls but the spikes aren t fierce and sharp. Just like leaves they must fall so the tree can prep for new growth. By mid fall the balls are dead and seedless.
The only difference is sweetgum balls drop all fall and winter. Because sweet gum tree balls are large and covered with sharp spikes they also. They dangle from branches on long stems. This means that only one tree is needed for the flowers to be pollinated and a single tree can produce the spiky fruits even when another sweet gum tree is not in sight.
Liquidambar styraciflua commonly known as the sweet gum tree is one of the most easily recognizable trees native to missouri.