Plant: Slender Silhouette - Sweetgum Tree

Plant description

Slender Silhouette is a columnar sweetgum found growing wild in Franklin County, Tennessee that reaches 50 to 60 feet tall on a crown only 5 to 6 feet wide, with dense erect branching that extends to the ground. The glossy dark green star shaped leaves turn an unpredictable mix of yellow, orange, red and burgundy in fall. Small spiky woody balls are produced erratically and in far smaller quantity than on the species. It grows fast in full sun to partial shade on clay, loam or sandy soil, acid to neutral, and tolerates dry soil, salt, wind and urban conditions. Leaves yellow with chlorosis in alkaline soil.

Flowers

Inconspicuous yellow green flowers bloom in the spring.

Foliage

Simple, alternate, dark green glossy star shaped leaves with five points; fall colour is unpredictable, running yellow, orange, red and burgundy.

Fruit

Small round woody spiky balls, produced erratically and in much smaller quantities than on the species.

Bark & stems

Reddish brown twigs carry corky wings; the dark brown to dark gray bark becomes deeply furrowed as the tree ages.

Native range

Species native to eastern North America; this selection was found growing wild in Franklin County, Tennessee

Plant details