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Tried and True Native Plant Selections
for the Mid-Atlantic
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Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweetgum)
Common in the southeast,* this low maintenance, ornamental shade tree is prized for its timber and sweet, gummy aromatic sap, from which it derives its common name. It is distinguished by star-shaped leaves as well as prickly seed balls that litter the ground as they drop from fall to spring.
*It is native to DC and common in DE. In PA, it is found mostly in the extreme southeast. In VA, it is common in the Coastal Plain and outer Piedmont, becoming infrequent to rare in the inner and far northern Piedmont, and disjunct across the Blue Ridge. It is native to NoVA but unreported in Alexandria, Fairfax City, Falls Church, and Manassas.
Learn more about other Mid-Atlantic plants:
Tried and True Native Plant Fact Sheets