Liquidambar styraciflua, commonly called the American sweetgum, sweet-gum, alligator-wood, American-storax, bilsted, red-gum, satin-walnut, or star-leaved gum, is a deciduous tree. It is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves and its hard, spiked fruits.

This plant's genus name Liquidambar is explained by botanist M. L. Fernald as "a mongrel name, from [the Latin] liquidus, fluid, and the Arabic ambar, amber, in allusion to the fragrant terebinthine juice or gum which exudes from the tree."

Medium-sized to large tree, growing to 20–35 m (65–115 ft), rarely to 41 m (135 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 2 m (6 ft) in diameter. Trees may live to 400 years.

The tree's gum resin, also known as liquid amber or copalm balsam, is a kind of native balsam, or resin, resembling turpentine. It may be clear, reddish, or yellow, with a pleasant smell like ambergris.

Easy to grow from seed and grows quickly (9 feet tall at 3 years old).

Each package of seeds comes with growing instructions.