Liquidambar styraciflua

The sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, at the Arboretum has extraordinarily striking and long-lasting autumn colour. The genus name Liquidambar comes from the Latin ‘liquidus’, meaning fluid, and the Arabic ‘ambar’, a reference to the resinous sap that exudes from the bark when the tree is damaged. The sap, known as storax, has been used for hundreds of years to treat common ailments such as skin problems and respiratory congestion. More recently, storax has proven to have antibacterial properties and effective even against multidrug resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).