Liquidambar styraciflua Gold Dust®
Common name:
Gold Dust Sweetgum
Pronunciation:
li-kwid-AM-bar sti-ra-si-FLOO-a
Family:
Altingiaceae, formerly Hamamelidaceae
Genus:
Synonyms:
'Goduzam'
'Aurea'?
'Variegata'?
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Pyramidal when young turning round headed at maturity, 45 ft tall and 30 ft wide (14 × 9 m). Leaves variegated, yellow and green. Fall color includes pink, yellow and burgundy tints.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 5
- Variegata Group?: green leaves irregularly specked with yellow. A Mr. Overeynder first described the selection 'Variegata' in 1880 as having green leaves specked with yellow. The selection 'Aureum' grown by E.H. Scanlon & Assoc. in Ohio in the early 1960s was probably 'Variegata'. 'Aurea' is a selection from Lake County Nursery in Ohio that has leaves flecked and mottled with specks of "gold". The RHS Dictionary of Gardening describes 'Aurea' as having mottled and striped yellow leaves, whereas 'Variegata' only has mottled leaves. They may also differ slightly in fall color. (Tree of the Year: Liquidambar, Eric Hsu and Susyn Andrews, Int. Dendrology Soc.). Some authorities view 'Variegata' as the same as Gold Dust® and Aurea.
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"Beauty in the eyes of the beholder", two views of Gold Dust® / 'Variegata':
- Sales catalog: "Speckles of gold appear to dust the sharply pointed, glossy green leaves of this variegated sweetgum. New growth is splashed with pinkish tones."
- Gerd Krüssmann (1985): Occasionally found in cultivation but not particularly ornamental.
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit
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foliage
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leaves
