Sweet Gum Tree Seeds Edible

The green pods contain small aromatic seeds which when chewed after a meal help with digestion.

Sweet gum tree seeds edible. Mature leaves are 4 to 7 inches wide. The aromatic resin storax is obtained from the trunk of this tree. The only edible part of the tree is the dried sap which makes a fragrant bitter chewing gum. Other uses of the herb.

A chewing gum and a stabilizer for cakes etc is obtained from the resin. It can also be chewed to sweeten the breath. The spines become even spinier and holes open up to reveal seeds inside the balls. Edible parts of sweet gum.

When the seeds mature they turn black but while they are still yellow they contain shikimic acid the same ingredient in tamiflu that was originally harvested only from star anise. Their fall color lasts much longer than most other trees. The sweetgum tree liquidambar sytraciflua is considered a nuisance in some areas of the united states because of its seed balls and brittle wood that drop from the tree creating a mess in the. It forms in cavities of the bark and also exudes naturally.

The sweetgum tree has both medicinal and nutritional applications. These seeds are food for about 25 species. The seeds sap and leaf buds are all edible with the seeds containing the most calories and protein. It is harvested in autumn.

Sweet gum balls start out plump and green but they dry as they mature. Despite its name the gum is not sweet. Harvesting seeds for a natural medicine. It s called sweet gum to separate it from a different species altogether the black gum nyssa sylvatica which is extremely sour and bitter.

Children call them gumballs or. Sweet gum tree leaves have five to seven pointed lobes and their shape will remind you of a star. North american distribution attributed to u. The downside to growing a sweetgum tree is the seed pods.

In its fresh liquid form it was used to flavor chewing gum up into the 1920 s. Because these trees are so plentiful in both rural and suburban areas it is amazing that more people aren t aware of their uses. The somewhat sweet sap was allowed to dry some and then used as a chewing gum. Production can be stimulated by beating the trunk in the spring.