Sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, is also known as sweetgum, redgum, sapgum, starleaf-gum, and bilsted.

Sweet gum is not restricted to the United States, and can be found natively in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua as well. Due to this, is has sizable variation in climate conditions.

Sweet gum is very tolerant of different soils and conditions, making it one of the most adaptable hardwoods. Sweet gum can be found on many soils at many elevations as a dominant tree compared to its neighbors. It does, however, do best with moist alluvial clays and loamy soils near rivers.

As a monoecious tree, an individual tree hosts both male and female parts. Flowers are small and green, and easily damaged by frost. Seed production begins between 20 and 30 years of age and can continue for at least 120 years. Seeds are produced in balls that can have between 5 and 56 viable seeds, depending on climate conditions.

Sweet gums are intolerant of shade. While many trees are more delicate at a young age, sweet gums are able to withstand conditions as young trees that become increasingly insufferable as the tree gets older.

While diseases are not particularly dangerous to sweet gums, animal grazing and fires are very damaging.