Sweet Gum
Parts Usually Used
Balsam, bark
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Sweet gum is a deciduous, forest-dwelling tree, growing as high as 150 feet, the tree is covered with rough, gray bark; but the branchlets are reddish-brown and often have corky ridges. When cut, it exudes a sticky, resinous gum or balsam. Its alternate, serrate, palmately lobed (star-shaped with 5-7 toothed lobes) leaves are dark green and shiny above and pale green underneath; in fall they turn a deep crimson.
Leaves have an aromatic pine-like scent when crushed. The petalless flowers occur in globular heads, the male heads clustered in terminal racemes and the female growing individually on long peduncles. The fruit consists of woody capsules growing in round, spiny heads an inch or more across which stay on the tree through the winter. They are spiky brown hanging balls.
Where Found
Native to the eastern and southern areas of the United States. Found in mixed woods, in moist soils of streams and riverbanks; planted in cities in the east, in the Pacific states, British Columbia, Central America, Mexico. Native from southern Connecticut south to Florida and west to Texas.
Medicinal Properties
Antiseptic, astringent, expectorant
Legends, Myths and Stories
The “gum” is produced in pockets in the bark. Children sometimes chew the gum in lieu of commercial chewing gum.
Uses
Historically, herbalists utilized the balsam externally for skin conditions and wounds, typically formulating it into an ointment with lard or oil. Native American traditions included preparing a wash from a decoction of the leaves or roots for injuries. The gum was traditionally administered as an expectorant for coughs, respiratory congestion associated with colds, and for sore throats.
Additionally, historical practitioners employed the bark for diarrhea and dysentery, and applied the plant in folk remedies for ringworm.
How Sold
Ingredient in “compound tincture of benzoin” available at pharmacies.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements , by James F.
D. and Phyllis A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974