Sweet Gum Tree Leaf Spot

Pockets of a white crystalline substance develop with the tissues.

Sweet gum tree leaf spot. Experts speculate that raising the soil grade around the tree by drought or other environmental stress fosters this disease. Sweet gum is a larval host plant for the beautiful luna moth. Sometimes sweetgum trees are infected by leaf spot which causes the leaves to develop discoloration die and fall from the tree. All are exacerbated by wet weather but probably won t kill the trees.

It is found as far west as missouri arkansas and oklahoma and north to southern illinois. This list includes sycamore yellow poplar and sweetgum trees. The problem on your sweetgum tree is either sweetgum anthracnose gloeosporium nervisequum or sweetgum leaf spot cercospora liquidambaris. It s not a serious disease and won t harm your tree irreparably.

Rake up and destroy infected leaves to help control if there are no adjacent sweetgum to add inoculum. Liquidambar styraciflua commonly called sweet gum is a low maintenance deciduous shade tree that is native from connecticut to florida and missouri further south to texas mexico and central america. In missouri it typically occurs in moist low woods and along streams only in the far southeastern corner of the state steyermark. Leaf spots of various types may attack sweetgum causing premature defoliation but are not serious.

Limber and cash reported that leaf spots produced by this pathogen on several different genera of forest trees were 2 5 mm diameter with regular margins. Sweet gum seeds are eaten by many species of birds including goldfinch purple finch sparrows mourning doves wild turkey northern bobwhite and wood duck as well as by squirrels and chipmunks. Sweetgum grows from connecticut southward throughout the eastto central florida and eastern texas. Like the maple tree these species have leaves whose ribs or veins radiate out from a single stalk or petiole attachment in a palmate pattern that is the lobes resemble a set of.

During the summer of 1994 in the nacogdoches county area of texas a prominent leaf spot on sweet gum was widespread. Infected trees show undernourished foliage the ends of branches may begin to die back. The leaves of a maple tree are very distinct but that shape does not belong to maple leaves alone a number of broadleaf trees have maple like leaves. Cercospora is a fungal spot disease that produces dark brown bordered angular to circular spots 2 to 10 mm in diameter on both sides of leaves.

It also grows in scattered locations in northwestern and central mexico guatemala belize salvador honduras and nicaragua. Inside the tree the inner bark shows a dark reddish brown stain. The sticky or gummy sap of sweet gums serves a purpose for the tree. Similar fungi are on the other trees i ve mentioned.