Liquidambar styraciflua - Literature
li: Santamour, F.S. and A.J. McArdle. 1984. Cultivar checklist for Liquidambar and Liriodendron.
li: Journ. Arboriculture 10: 309-312.

Liquidambar acalycina 'Burgundy Flash'
lc: new growth bright burgundy red
photo, source (Aesthetic Gardens)

Liquidambar formosana 'Afterglow'
lc: lavender-purple new growth
afc: rose-red
or: California?

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Albomarginata'
lc: margined white

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Albomarginata Manon' = 'Manon' (3/01)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Andrew Henson'
ha: "large tree....striking habit" (Junker's Nursery website 2001). More vigorous than most clones.
afc: deep reddish-purple
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)
so: Junker's Nursery

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Anja'
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Anneke'
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Argentea' (3/01)
ns: a name used a white variegated clone.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Aurea'
lc: mottled and stripped yellow
ns: it is a very similar mutation to 'Variegata'

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Aurora'
ha: pyramidal, smaller than some species variants
lc: mottled yellow
afc: red, orange, yellow shades in some areas - Dirr reports it colors poorly his Georgia trials

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Briliqui' = 'Pellouailles'

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Brotzman #1' (provisional name)
st: thick corky stems and bark
ch: more cold hardy
or: Brotzman Nursery, Madison OH USA

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Brotzman #2' (provisional name)
ha: vigorous
afc: superior
ch: more cold hardy
or: Brotzman Nursery, Madison OH USA

Liquidambar styraciflua BURGUNDY™
afc: dark wine red to deep purple, often persisting longer
or: Saratoga Hort. Foundation

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Carnival'
ha: globose, compact
afc: Dirr says "excellent"

Liquidambar styraciflua CHEROKEE™ ('Ward' in part)
ha: vigorous, straight trunk, narrow when young becoming oval or pyramidal
st: corky bark and stems, even on young trees
lc: dark glossy green
fr: nearly fruitless - there is light fruit set of aborted, small syncarps.
afc: dark red
or: Heritage Trees Inc.
ch: proven to -28 deg. F.
tm: name is trademarked
so: Schmidt

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Clydesform'

'Corky' - click image

'Corky' - click image

'Corky' at Boxerwood Gardens, Lexington, Virginia  (Boxerwood.org) showing it's unique, hyper-alations on every major and minor twig. This magnificent old tree planted by Dr. Munger cascades nicely into a scenic pond flanked by a pair of columnar beech (of all unlikely waterside companions).  It is well kept by the current curators and is a favorite at those wonderful, densely wooded acres today. There is not a more alluring and mysterious gum tree around. My four hour drive up from Raleigh was worth the experience of this one tree alone.

I suspect the extra weight of the twigs does influence the habit somewhat and that would have to be in a downward direction. History tells us that it came from Kingswood Nursery in Maryland around 1965 when Longwood Gardens acquired it. There are many extra-corky sweetgums around the world in woods and collections (most like smooth but fat brown windshield wiper blades) but this clone is above all those I've seen and quite unrivaled.

Click the images above and below to enlarge.

Note the very abundant gray and tan tooth-like extensions from the normal woody wings.  There are not only the wings parallel to the stem but teeth which run mostly perpendicular and across them. It is almost as if someone made a necklace of bits of wood. The word "encrusted" also comes to mind when studying the older, more thickened branches.  Such projections occur occasionally and quite sparsely in other cultivars but never by the thousands! This is surely a clone with scrambled DNA but the effect is more than curious.

 I  recommend 'Corky' for any serious collection of rare woodies. You all know who you are and you must get one. 'Corky' is quirky. It deviates widely and prolifically from the normal genetic path of laying down bark to protect deciduous trees from temperature, humidity, wind, insects, disease, and  all those other vectors of stress. This is a tree programmed and armed with shark's teeth to survive and endure. In the course of it's eccentric experiment someone noticed, liked it, perpetuated the precious oddness, and today we are blessed. It is a novelty with plenty of charm and will be quite a conversation piece.  Sweet!  LCH

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Corky'
ht: 35 ft. tall x 18 ft. wide in 25 years
ha: upright, vigorous, narrowly pyramidal
st: branches notably very corky or alate. The plant at Boxerwood Garden, Lexington VA has numerous tooth-like projections. See photo above.
afc: rose-red
or: Longwood Gardens obtained original plant from Kingsville Nur. MD in 1965

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Elstead Mill' (3/01)
ns: listed name with the RHS

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Emerald Sentinel' ('Ward' in part)
ht: 30 ft. tall x 12 ft. wide
ha: narrow, upright, compact, slower than typical
lc: dark green
lt: thicker blade
afc: yellow-orange tinged red
or: Eugene Wholesale and J.F. Schmidt
tm: name is trademarked
pat: US #10676
so: Schmidt

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Festeri' (3/01)
ns: this name is listed in Europe and is perhaps a corruption of 'Festival'. However one BBC
ns: gardening article used the name L. festeri 'Palo Alto' for what is surely another clone.

Liquidambar styraciflua FESTIVAL™
ha: more narrow than species typical
afc: yellow, orange, pink, red shades in CA USA. Less colorful elsewhere.
or: Saratoga Hort. Found.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Frosty'
lc: finely mottled white
or: found by Tony Avent

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Globe' = 'Gumball'?
ns: while listed a synonym by some, Junkers Nursery on their 2001 website states it is denser.
so: Junker's Nursery

Liquidambar styraciflua GOLD DUST™ ('Golduzam')
ht: 60'
wd: 35'
ha: pyramidal at first, later oval to globose
lc: gold mottled all spring and summer
ac: assumes pink & red & golden colors
ch: 5
or: Baker Nursery of Painesville OH in 1920's
in: Lake County Nur.
eval: said to be better and hardier than other variegates. Dirr considers it a part of 'Variegata'
tm: registered in US

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Gold Star'
lc: heavily sectored yellow

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Golden Sun' (2/02)
st: yellow, very showy
ls: wide lobes
photo, distribution: Pride of Place Plants (online site 2002, with color photo)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Golden Treasure'
ha: slower than species typical, usually a small tree
lc: margined light yellow to 50% of the surface. There is no speckling like 'Variegata' and most others.
afc: dark red, orange, pink shades

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Grant's Seedless' (8/3)
ha: upright, conical, vigorous, original plant less dense than some species variants
frq: fruitless, thus seedless
afc: dark red and yellow shades
ch: to -25 deg. F. - more cold hardy than 'Moraine' and other clones in IL USA
or: William and Elizabeth Grant, Wilmette IL USA found on their home property 1983
pat: US# 9788 on 1/28/97 to originator

'Gumball' - click image
Dawes Arboretum. Summer 2003. Normally the cultivar is top-grafted for that gumball machine-on-a-stand look. Here on a foggy day at the remarkable
and well-curated Dawes garden we see 'Gumball' grafted much lower and being in effect a dwarf, shrubby sweetgum. It is still an impressive plant with
that alternate form of presentation.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Gumball'
ha: dense, globose, semi-dwarf, often multi-stemmed and shrub-like. It is best trained to have a "gumball
ha: machine" shape with a stand and globe.
afc: very poor shades by species standards.
frq: non-fruiting to date
ch: less than species typical, certainly not good in the northern range of the species
or: Hiram Stubblefield, McMinnville TN

Liquidambar styraciflua HAPPIDAZE® 'Hapdell' (4/02)
ha: upright with "heavy crown", well spreading branches
lc: dark glossy green
afc: dark red
frq: no fruit production observed in 30 years of evaluation
wholesale source: Femrite Nursery

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Jennifer Carol' (3/01)
ns: a name listed with the RHS

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Kia'
ha: narrowly, columnar in youth becoming more pyramidal in age
afc: orange-red to deep purple shades
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Kirsten' (3/01)
afc: "reliable and brilliant" fall color (Junkers Nur. website 2001)
or: Holland
so: Junker's Nursery

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Lane Roberts'
afc: dark red to near black (UK)
or: England

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Levis'
st: lacking corky alations - which is hardly a good thing?
afc: bright red, orange, yellow shades

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Lollipop'
ha: globose

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Manon' ('Albomarginata Manon')(3/01)
lc: creamy white margin
afc: purple, starting in the center and moving out, preserving the variegated look
or: France
so: Junker's Nursery

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Matthew's Gold'
lc: pure yellow until late summer - not mottled as many other clones
ac: yellow and red to purple shades
tm: Australia trademark was pending at time of registration
or: found as street tree in 1980 by Vic Ciccolella in Sydney Australia

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Moonbeam'
lc: mottled green and cream in summer
afc: bright pink and red shades over the variegation
in: Duncan & Davies NZ
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Moraine'
ha: uniform habit, more vigorous than species typical, an upright-oval
lc: darker glossier green
afc: bright red
ch: more cold hardy - has survived to -25 deg. F.
so: source (Twombly Nursery)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Naree' (3/01)
lc: golden yellow
ll: smaller blade than species typical
or: Australia
so: Junker (online catalog 2002)

'Oconee' - click image
JC Raulston Arboretum. Summer 2002. 'Oconee' is a subglobose to ovoid cultivar that is compact without being a fragile dwarf. It colors better in fall than 'Gumball'. Note it's distinct outline in contrast to the pyramidal trees around it. Leaves are a bit smaller than the species' average and one can begin to see why nurserymen are seeing dollar signs among these green stars. It's potential for "underwire" street use (habit is ideal) is pending evaluation of the fruiting tendencies of older plants.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Oconee'
ht: 15-18 ft. tall x 12 ft. wide (Univ. of Ga)
ha: dense, globose somewhat similar to 'Gumball' but Dirr thinks it will prove smaller
afc: dark red to purple, persisting to 4 weeks - much superior to the poorly coloring 'Gumball'
frq: fruiting - unlike 'Gumball'

Liquidambar styraciflua PALO ALTO™
ha: uniform neat growth
afc: orange and red shades in Californa - less impressive elsewhere perhaps
or: Saratoga Hort. Foundation. Palo Alto is the home of Stanford University.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Parasol'
ha: drooping tips give a parasol effect with age
ls: blades more incised, deeply serrate
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Pellouailles' ('Briliqui')(4/01)
ha: upright, columnar
afc: "exceptional"
tm: cultivar name is trademarked
pat: US PPAF
frq: "very minimal seed production"

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Pendula'
ha: narrowly upright with drooping branches

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Penwood' (3/01)
afc: wine red, persisting up to 2 months by one report
or: Doug Harris selection
so: Junker (online catalog 2002)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Plattsburg'
ha: pyramidal
bk: deeply furrowed, showy

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Richared' (4/01)
ht: 5m
afc: orange and red
so: Blue Mountain Nursery

'Rotundiloba' - click image

'Rotundiloba' is a remarkable mutation, one of those glorious plants that God has given us as true blessing. This cultivar is of restrained growth, not so much compact, as not overly vigorous like some seedlings will be. This 12 footer is showing the extra density and shorter internodes for the time being. Dirr says it proves a bit more narrow on the pyramidal scale - but the difference is quite minor in terms of a landscape decision. The five lobes are dark green and nicely obtuse at their apex, making it a bit different from the mapley look of species typical.

The major blessing is in the almost total lack of those prickly, annoying fruit. To taxonomists they are known as capsular syncarps or round clusters of capsules. To everyone else they are known as "ouuuuhhhhh..." when walking bare or stocking feet. The species in the warm climates is so fertile one is apt to be shocked. I have seen some lawns so thick with the spiny things one looks positively inebriated trying to find a steady footing and easy path. They have a very hard, unforgiving core not matching anything the human foot or brain can handle - something like a hairy marble. Kids love them for throwing, of course. Too bad. 'Rotundiloba' is 99.9% free of fruit. We have seen some fruit on it but these occur only on reverting, acute-lobed shoots which are quite rare even on our oldest known plants in North Carolina. LCH

'Rotundiloba' - click image
Coker Arboretum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Summer 2003. This is the original tree from which the entire clone descends.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Rotundiloba' ('Obtusifolia')('Roundleaf')
ht: 60-75 ft. tall - 25 ft. tall x 10 ft. wide in 10 years.
ha: slightly more narrow a pyramid than some species selections.
ls: lobes obtuse rather than the normal acute to acuminate.
lc: dark glossy green.
afc: yellow to red shades - not as spectacular as many others in NC at least. Others report it to
afc: be excellent.
fr: this clone does in fact produce occasional fruit but not in any quantity. Your editor (L. Hatch)
fr: has seen over 7 fruits, some seed-producing, from various North Carolina trees.

Liquidambar styraciflua [Shadow Columnar] = 'Slender Silhouette'?
ha: narrowly columnar to conical
frq: very sparse fruiting
or: Don Shadow TN USA
li: Dirr, M.A. 1998. Man. Woody Land. Plts. Stipes Press.
ns: almost certainly 'Slender Silhouette' but this is unconfirmed to date

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Silver King'
ha: slower growing
lc: some margins irregularly white. Often with large sectors. New growth may be pinkish.
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette' (3/02)
ht: 45 ft. tall x 6-8 ft. wide - 15 ft. in 5 years
ha: narrowly columnar
afc: red, orange, yellow shades
frq: very sparse or not fruitset
or: Don Shadow TN USA found in Franklin Co. TN in wild
so: Wayside Gardens (Spring 2002 Gardeners Treasury: 5, with color photo)

'Stared' - click image
JC Raulston Arboretum. Summer 2003. A newly planted example at their new education center.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Stared' (3/01)
ha: stiffly upright, vase-shaped.
pet, st: petioles and young twigs more red than many other cultivars
ls: more deeply lobed, incised, and star-like. It it not cut and lacerated in the sense of a silver maple
ls: cultivar. The primary lobes are thinner (2-3cm) and there are longer (5-15mm) secondary lobes
afc: bright red

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Starlight'
lc: finely mottled white over the entire blade
or: found as sport in Raleigh NC USA
id: may be the same as 'Frosty'

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Stella' (3/01)
so: Dufay Mandre

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Thea'
afc: superior fall colors
so: Junker (online catalog 2002)
so: wholesale source (Firma C. Esveld)

'Variegata' - click image
Dawes Arboretum. Summer 2003. This is about as good as 'Variegata' gets. Some trees are far less colorful.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Variegata'
lc: mottled, speckled, and sometimes sectored yellow - often to varying degrees.
eval: many selections have been named and these are covered above. Some seem very similar except
eval: in the amount of variegation retained through selection and reported cold hardiness.
ns: some writers lump nearly a dozen names under this old name. Others are familiar with 'Variegata'
ns: as a less highly colored and less bold chimera, preferring to recognize the better selected clones.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Ward' = 'Cherokee' in part
ns: the name 'Ward' has also appeared as a synonym of 'Emerald Sentinel' though perhaps in error.

'White Star' - click image
JC Raulston Arboretum. Spring 2002.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'White Star'
lc: broadly margined creamy white, more white with age, covering 20-75%% of the surface. It
lc: burns in full sun in the south and is often prone to numerous brown margins and tips.
id: it should be compared to 'Manon' in side-by-side trials. We believe this clone is the more white
id: of the two based on photos on 'Manon'.

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Woplesdon'
ls: narrower lobes than species typical
afc: orange shades

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Woplesdon Variegated' (5/02)
ha: dense, globose
lc: irregularly mottled white
afc: red, orange, white, purple shades
or: Rare Find Nursery stays this originated as "misfits" from a tissue culture operation
or: and so far the plants appear to be 'Gumball'-like but of interesting colors.
so: Rare Find Nursery (Plant Catalog 2002: 37