American sweetgum, also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, gumball tree, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central America. Sweetgum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern United States, and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates. It is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves and its hard, spiked fruits. It is currently classified in the plant family Altingiaceae, but was formerly considered a member of the Hamamelidaceae.
A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals, such as plants, fungi, or bacteria, that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively, not sexually, from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet. In fungi, "individuals" typically refers to the visible fruiting bodies or mushrooms that develop from a common mycelium which, although spread over a large area, is otherwise hidden in the soil. Clonal colonies are common in many plant species. Although many plants reproduce sexually through the production of seed, reproduction occurs by underground stolons or rhizomes in some plants. Above ground, these plants most often appear to be distinct individuals, but underground they remain interconnected and are all clones of the same plant. However, it is not always easy to recognize a clonal colony especially if it spreads underground and is also sexually reproducing.
Ophiopogon japonicus (dwarf lilyturf, mondograss, fountainplant, monkeygrass; Japanese: リュウノヒゲ ryu-no-hige or ジャノヒゲ ja-no-hige is a species of Ophiopogon native to China, India, Japan, Nepal, and Vietnam.
Styrax is a genus of about 130 species of large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, mostly native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority in eastern and southeastern Asia, but also crossing the equator in South America. The resin obtained from the tree is called benzoin or storax, often used as a vanilla-like component in perfumery.
Red gum or redgum may refer to:
Storax, often commercially sold as styrax, is a natural resin isolated from the wounded bark of Liquidambar orientalis Mill. and Liquidambar styraciflua L. (Hamamelidaceae). It is distinct from benzoin, a similar resin obtained from the Styracaceae plant family.
Pinellia is a genus of plants in the family Araceae native to East Asia. Its species are commonly called green dragons due to the color and shape of the inflorescence, which possesses a green, hooded spathe from which protrudes a long, tongue-like extension of the spadix. The leaves vary greatly in shape among different species, from simple and cordate to compound with three to many leaflets. Pinellia reproduces rapidly from seed and many species also produce bulbils on the leaves. Both characteristics have allowed some species to become weedy in temperate areas outside their native range, notably Pinellia ternata in eastern North America.
Ophiopogon (lilyturf) is a genus of evergreen perennial plants native to warm temperate to tropical East, Southeast, and South Asia. Despite their grasslike appearance, they are not closely related to the true grasses, the Poaceae. The name of the genus is derived from Greek ὄφις ophis, 'snake' and πώγων pogon, 'beard', most probably referring to its leaves and tufted growth. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. Like many lilioid monocots, it was formerly classified in the Liliaceae.
Veratrum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in damp habitats across much of temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia, and North America.
Gypsophila vaccaria is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native from Portugal and Morocco to the Himalayas, and has been introduced into temperate areas worldwide. Among its many synonyms is Vaccaria hispanica, which was the only species placed in the genus Vaccaria. It is known by several common names including cowherb, cowcockle, cow basil, cow soapwort, and prairie carnation. It is an annual herb with blue-gray, waxy herbage and pale pink flowers.
Veratrum nigrum, the black false hellebore, is a widespread Eurasian species of perennial flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. Despite its common name, V. nigrum is not closely related to the true hellebores, nor does it resemble them.
Panax notoginseng is a species of the genus Panax, and it is commonly referred to in English as Chinese ginseng or notoginseng. In Chinese it is called tiánqī, tienchi ginseng, sānqī or sanchi, three-seven root, and mountain plant. P. notoginseng belongs to the same scientific genus as Panax ginseng. In Latin, the word panax means "cure-all", and the family of ginseng plants is one of the best-known herbs.
Liquidambar orientalis, commonly known as oriental sweetgum or Turkish sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar, native to the eastern Mediterranean region, that occurs as pure stands mainly in the floodplains of southwestern Turkey and on the Greek island of Rhodes.
Wolfiporia extensa, commonly known as hoelen, poria, tuckahoe, China root, fu ling, or matsuhodo, is a fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is a wood-decay fungus but has a subterranean growth habit. It is notable in the development of a large, long-lasting underground sclerotium that resembles a small coconut. This sclerotium, known as Tuckahoe or fu-ling, is not the same as the true tuckahoe used as Indian bread by Native Americans, which is the arrow arum, Peltandra virginica, a flowering tuberous plant in the arum family.
Styphnolobium japonicum, the Japanese pagoda tree is a species of deciduous tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae.
Trichosanthes kirilowii is a flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae found particularly in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi (China). It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it shares the name guālóu with the related T. rosthornii. It is known as "Chinese cucumber" and "Chinese snake gourd" in English.
Sophora flavescens, the shrubby sophora, is a species of plant in the genus Sophora of the family Fabaceae. This genus contains about 52 species. It mainly occurs in India, Japan, Korea and Russia.
Brucea javanica is a plant in the family Simaroubaceae. The specific epithet javanica is from Latin, meaning "of Java". Other common names in English include Java brucea and kosam.
Fraxinus chinensis, the Chinese ash, is a species of flowering trees. Its leaves are used in traditional Chinese medicine for dysentery disorders.
Liquidambar acalycina, Chang's sweetgum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Altingiaceae native to southern China. Growing to 30–50 ft (9.1–15.2 m) tall and 20–30 ft (6.1–9.1 m) broad. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree with three-lobed maple-like leaves that turn red in autumn before falling. It is monoecious, meaning both male and female flowers appear on the same plant. The flowers are insignificant, yellow/green in colour, and are followed by small gum-balls that persist on the tree until winter. The wood exudes a sweet-smelling resin when pierced, giving the tree its common name.
