The sweetgum is a common forest and backyard tree throughout Georgia. This valuable tree provides us with striking fall color, is a host plant for 30 species of butterflies and moths, produces food for a broad spectrum of wildlife ranging from American goldfinches and wood ducks to white tailed deer, and is also used to make medicine, plywood, furniture, and veneer.
However, would you believe that sweetgum logs were once employed as cannons during the Civil War?