Names
This plant's genus name Liquidambar was first given by Linnaeus in 1753 from liquidus, fluid, and the Arabic ambar, amber, in allusion to the fragrant terebinthine juice or gum which exudes from the tree. Its specific epithet styraciflua is an old generic name meaning flowing with styrax (a plant resin). The names "storax" and "styrax" have long been confusingly applied to the aromatic gum or resin of this species, that of L. orientalis of Turkey, and to the resin better known as benzoin resin from various tropical trees in the genus Styrax.
The common name "sweet gum" refers to the species' "sweetish gum", contrasting with the black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), only distantly related, with which the sweet gum overlaps broadly in range. The species is also known as the "red gum", for its reddish bark.
Read more about this topic: Liquidambar Styraciflua
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