What kind of tree is this?
Clues
- Deciduous trees, although they are evergreen to semi-evergreen in very southern locales
- Medium to large tree, reaching 60-75 feet
- Straight trunk that is 2-3 feet in diameter on average
- Symmetrically shaped with broadly conical crown
- Branchlets are pithy, many-angled and winged
- Aromatic, star-shaped leaves, usually with 5 points but sometimes 3-7
- Simple and serrated leaves with palmate veins that are 3-5 inches wide, and dark green and shiny with 3 distinct bundle scars
- Leaves turn yellow-green, red and purple in the fall
- Inconspicuous yellow-green flowers in spherical clusters in mid-late spring
- Hard-spiked, long-stemmed fruits, 1 – 1/2 inches, known as “gumballs”
- Numerous fallen, open fruits
- Seeds are 1/4 inch thick and are thick and winged