Poisonous Sweet Gum Tree Balls

It s currently flu season which means many people are hom.

Poisonous sweet gum tree balls. It is recognizable by the combination of its five pointed star shaped leaves and its hard spiked fruits. I think my dog has eaten some sweet gum balls from a sweet gum tree. She always is trying to eat something but now she s very lethargic and is drinking lots of water. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern united states and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates.

Simon has crashed his bike more than once when his front tire hit one. Birth control injections for sweet gum trees. Every subdivision from florissant to kirkwood to maryland heights has several of them. It s sweet gum ball time of year again and that means you may find yourself slipping on these prickly round seeds.

According to the lazy landscaper these hard brown spiky balls that can create some serious hazards. She s a flat coated retriever about 75 lbs. Additionally the sweet gum s spiky gum balls hang conspicuously from the tree s smaller. The balls of the trees are modified fruits that house the seeds until the balls ripen and release the seeds.

Before you write them off as just a nuisance consider these simple ways to utilize the sweet gum ball tree and it s falling fruit. While the trees were popular for builders and municipalities to plant due to their medium to fast rate of growth and beautiful color they have become an. If your sweet gum is too tall to spray or if you don t want to attempt spraying a small tree you can stop fruit production by having a certified arborist administer a trunk injection. Despite these nuisances we always slow down to take a look and to collect the unusual alien balls we always end up with.

On our typical route there are 3 trees that bear these weird little balls. Sweet gum trees are so beautiful until you want to walk barefoot through your lawn. I ve twisted my ankle on them more than once. I think she may have ingested them this morning.

It is currently classified in the plant family altingiaceae but was formerly considered a member of the hamamelidaceae. Are these things harmful to dogs. The sweet gum s primary liability according to the makers of this list are the thousands of spiny brown seed balls gum balls if you will that it casts upon the ground around it. When i m pulling a wagon full of kids they can make travel difficult.

Sweet gum trees also have unusual fruit. They are hard round balls about 1 1 2 inches in diameter and covered with sharp little bristles that can hurt a dog s paws. The tree s dark grayish brown twigs bear unusual corky ridges that lend the tree a peculiar angularity. American sweetgum trees can be found throughout must of the eastern us.

The certified arborist will inject the. The american sweet gum is a popular tree in the st.