1. Gumballs placed/piled around the base of hostas discourage slugs from climbing up and eating holes in the plant. 2. Dry, brown gumballs can be used in a campfire or even indoor fireplace..they flame up, then remain for a long time as small coals. 3. As a child, we would spray with paint and sprinkle glitter on gumballs to make pretty little ornaments for our indoor and our outdoor Christmas trees.
@@stacystepp7914 great ! we used a chopstick inserted into the gumball to hold them while spray painting. Brown ones sprayed with clear acrylic make gorgeous wreaths.. have fun 🌷
God said, look, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;..... God is good!❤
I've always seen the gum tree as a pain, you have opened up my understanding that it just may relieve the pain of my ills, at 70 you can teach an old dog a new formula for natural health 😊
Same here, I have two of the biggest gum trees I have ever seen in my yard ( i don't think two big grown men could get their arms around the trunk) gladly they are not close toy house. They seem to always have broken limbs falling out the tree and those damn gun balls get stuck in the pulley of my lawnmower and pops the belt off.
I found your site a few weeks ago. I'm a 70 year retired and a field biologist educated at Delta State University. I like your presentation and the information is great. Thanks
Field biologist sounds really interesting. What did you do? I kinda hate my current profession and if entry isn't too onerous, I might just switch over. Very interested in working outdoors.
Just wanted you to know I appreciate you. I'm an old country boy born in 65 raised in the Carolina swamps. I'm grateful for the history. Now you grabbed my attention with the ivory billed woodpecker? Please, elaborate in a video your knowledge of this bird. Because, as a boy growing up like where the red fern grows, I believe I saw one. But, that would have been in like 1979.
I live in Georgia in a wooded area and we have several pilleated woodpeckers living in our area. The ivory billed which looked very similar is extinct.You can hear the pilleated more than see them. They make a hammering sound in the woods, very loud. They are very large woodpeckers.
Wonderful video. You have become my favorite to watch when it comes to herbalist type content. One because we live in the same state but also because your not like all the others that want to charge you an arm and a leg to teach you about the ways to break things down into tinctures and teas. Yes it's ok to teach paid for classes that get really in depth but it's great just to be able to learn the basics for free. Thank you so much for letting me learn something new on a daily.
Learn Your Land is Adam Haridan's channel in Pennsylvania. He's really informative also on the identification of the forest trees, plants and mushrooms.
In Australia and New Zealand, gum tree always refers to one of a number of Australian eucalypts. The gum tree you are talking about is called a liquid ambar, fast growing and best kept away from housing because its invasive roots quickly take over drainage systems!
Thank you so much for educating us on the Sweet Gum Tree. I have spent many years raking up the sweet gum balls from our yard (several wheel barrow loads each winter) and had no idea they are part of God's healing gift to us. We had to cut down two humongous Sweet Gum Trees because they were dropping limbs and we were afraid the trees were going to fall on the house in a hurricane. We still have plenty around the perimeter of our yard and in the forest that surrounds our home. We have so many of the plants and trees that you have talked about in your videos. I truly appreciate you and the work you have put into these videos and your book.
My granddaddy, born in 1911 in South Alabama, told me that when he was young the old folks used sweet gum twigs both to clean teeth & to roll in a tin of snuff, then keep that in their mouths. His grandma had lost most of her teeth & he used to chew a twig for her to dip in snuff.
Grandmother used willow twigs to brush her snuff. She used red seal. When she sent me to the store, she would tell me to look for the red dove on the lid. She had all her teeth when she died.
You saved our tree! I was wanting to cut it down but my husband was hesitant and now I don't want to cut it down! I SO appreciate you showing how to use locally grown plants. It is a NEEDED subject. We always think the plants from elsewhere or bought from a well know herb supplier is the best. I learned alot from your free guide, thank you! Will you be doing more classes?
Like several other comments, I have grumbled my way thru fall and the annoying gumballs in my back yard. Never had a clue as to why anyone would plant them in a suburban neighborhood! I will look with more favor on this gift of nature, and thank you for a very educational video.
Thank you for such an informative video ! I’m so grateful to have had family teach me about living off the land as a little girl. My grandfather, a Jack of all trades, harvested pine sap into clay cups to sell for turpentine production. Fortunately, I have saved and use many of those beautiful old cups to line a garden path. My mother, a Great Depression survivor, said she and her friends substituted sweet gum sap for chewing gum when they could afford none. I don’t think they knew about the medicinal uses however. And we must not overlook the ruby red beauty of this tree in the fall, good for the soul!
Lol, don’t go barefoot. I used to have one in my backyard. It was a twin tree and my kids love to play with them, but they are sharp little stickers. I can remember helping my grandma collect the sap, but she never injured a tree to collect it. She just collected whatever naturally leaked out and she started a little can in her medicine box.
My mom had several of these in a corner of her backyard. A twin one broke off at the base in a storm and fell completely thru the middle of her house. Took an extremely long time to repair and the house was only a couple of years old.
As a kid, we used to call it a gumball or sycamore tree. Every year we would rake the dried balls and use it as a filler in our parking space on the property. Never knew it was medicinal. I think my grandmother would have appreciated it even more than she did.
That could have been sycamore, which looks a bit similar and also medicinal. The bark on sycamore falls off on it's own and is helpful for poison ivy itching.
Thankyou for your videos. I remember as a little girl my Grand Daddy using the gumballs and leaves for medicine. Also he would sell the gumballs to Florist along with his beautiful glads
When our neighbor had her sweet gum tree removed we got a truck load of the wood chips and used it as mulch and freshen trails through our native plants area. Quite a few seedlings appeared and neighbors told me not to let them grow because of the balls being a nuisance, so I dug up a few and planted them in a local park that was overrun with many invasive plants. I kept one near our mail box and keep it small and as a trellis for a native honeysuckle vine. After seeing this video I’m glad I have a use for the leaves each time I cut it back. Thx.
We have 4 of these on our property that are all 30-100 years of age. Tons of these gumballs in the yard. We have been making a tincture for flu prevention, using them in garden areas for slug repellents, etc.
My family lives an hour southwest of Augusta, GA, and we have many large sweet gum trees on our property, one of which has had a wood pecker feeding from it for the entire twenty years that we've lived on the property; I'm not sure of the species, but it's fairly large, looks black and white from ground level when it's in flight, and it also feeds from a large black gum tupelo tree that's also on our property.
Ditto on basically every comment!!! I’m 60 and all my life I thought they were a nuisance tree and dreaded cleaning them up. Why are we not taught stuff like this in school as kids. I’ve also learned about Mimosa trees medicinal properties too and now am learning about Mullein and stinging Nettles. I’m hooked on learning these age old uses for our ailments seeing how I’ve lost all faith in the pharmaceutical industry after 2020. Especially after Rockefeller destroyed our earthly natural medicines were scrubbed for dangerous petroleum products to replace them with synthetic drugs that keep us sick.
I wanted to comment the day this aired but you know...life . My Mamaw also called this the toothbrush tree because as a girl they used the sweet gum tree for teeth cleaning. She showed me how. And she would chew the "gum" just for fun😊. I'm enjoying your videos
Thanks Matthew, it is great that you site the importance of this tree for wildlife, strangely enough so many other trees that are considered "trash trees" are very important for migrating flocks. Like the Cherry Laurel.
The bark and trunks of Sweet Gum and Maple trees are very different. It is just as easy to identify a tree by its trunk and canopy as from the leaves. I was taught as a young girl how to do so by my father.
Had this tree In our yard as a kid. Dad gave us a quarter per bucket of the Sweetgum balls. I also made small Christmas trees by putting toothpicks in the holes of the balls, stacking like a tree and spray painting. Good table decoration.
They supposedly have been spotted here in Louisiana, I don’t know if it’s the Ivory Bill they have seen or if it’s the Pileated Woodpecker. We have several patches of old growth trees which they prefer. Thank you for this great information!
Thanks for sharing all this knowledge! I’ve made the tincture from tulip tree bark for my arthritis. Praise the Lord, it works!!!! Next I’ll make the sweet gum medicine next. God bless you sir!
Unless there’s another red-headed woodpecker that looks like the endangered one… we have two of them that hang around our yard on a near-daily basis here in central AR. And they come back year after year. If you can’t find them where you are, you’re welcome to come see ours. ✌🏼
So glad I found your channel and hearing you talk about Tommie Bass and Daryl Patton. I have heard Daryl speak many times and always learn something. His book is invaluable. Looking forward to seeing your other videos.
My grandmother called those trees Mohawk, and my neighbor who was born in the 1800's called them Apollo Trees. I heard a 4th name for them but I cant remember it. My neighbors had a fantastic 1930s International Style house and all the interior walls were gum wood, they glowed like honey held up in the sun. I sure wish the Ivory Bill was still around but if you see the videos of them they were very friendly to humans, too friendly. So I dont know why they would suddenly be evasive for 80 years.
Thank you for this info! I never understood why my neighbors hated sweet gum trees so much. I sensed something was special about them and I was fascinated with the star shape of their seed pods. I'm so happy to now know what I must have been sensing...they are profound healers and my two in the front yard are almost 100 years old!
this tree has the look of a maple tree. i have one in my front yard, and i'll have to go and ID it correctly today. it wasn,t until you mentioned the woodpecker, this tree had numerous woodpecker holes in it , so the woodpecker has ID'd my sweetgum tree LOL
Thanks for an informative lesson, Matthew. My undergraduate degree is in Botany, so I do enjoy your video posts. I particularly like that you explain the meaning and origins of the binomial nomenclature. As to the medicinal uses of the sweet gum, I had no idea. I should have gone to graduate school. Previous to this information, the only thing that came to mind with mention of this tree is that it is a bear to split for firewood. For those that don't know, the grain of the wood is not straight, which makes it extremely difficult to split with an axe. You are going to want a hydraulic log splitter.
Its Used in TCM- BAI JIAO XIANG its used as a a Blood moving herb aka emmenagogue, though it is used for things you listed ( expect colds flu aka wind evils) STYRAX or SU HE XIANG is also used in TCM. My Teacher Taught that STYRAX is made with a different Resin. The fruit or LU LU TONG is used as well. It's a POWERFUL Blood and QI mover and disperses wind cold damp- all these contribute to PAIN in TCM. It can induce TACHYCARDIA or palpitations in some ( Chinese Genus) Love what your doing here! Great to see local herbs that can be used in a TCM model.
I have been an Herbalist for over 24 years and when I make my tinctures I always try to put them in on a full moon and take them off on the following full moon. I have always found doing this always produces a stronger tincture. Thank you for this info on the uses of sweetgum!
Phenomenal video, thank you. We moved to SC and have several Sweetgum trees. Also, I've seen the Pilated woodpeckers, not sure if that is the Ivory Billed??? They have a very loud call, sounds like a call a Native Indian may have used years ago. You have an incredible wealth of knowledge and would love to meet up with you if you're anywhere around my neck of the woods. We're way out in the country NW of Walterboro in a small town. Originally, my husband and I lived up North, however, we decided to make our home out here since April of 2022, where the climate is more suitable to our liking. Unfortunately, one year after we moved here my husband became very sick with a rare leukemia and sadly he is now on home hospice....I've been diligently, and lovingly, caring for him during his final stages, so needless to say have very little time to put into myself and my great love for nature and all it's goodness. I had previously started a couple of large gardens and managed to make one tincture but had to let everything go.....Sadly, he as nearing the final stage and my focus is caring for him, it is all consuming now but eventually I will have time to invest in my life. I've always been fascinated with GOD'S nature and all the incredible uses for plants, trees, flowers, herbs, and even weeds. I will be searching for like minded friends that share the same interests as I, GOD willing!
I live in Southeastern Mississippi. We actually have about three pairs of these woodpeckers on our property. we call them Indian Hens I don't know where that otiginated. We hear them often, see them rarely. We see them most when the popcorn tree is blooming. They love them!! I really enjoy your videos. Educational and you are easy to listen to.
All my neighbors have cut down their sweet gums bc they find them annoying. My yard didn't have any but I will be keeping an eye out for one to transplant. I prefer trees and birds over a pristine mowed yard. 😊 Love that I can educate them on it's medicinal powers now. Thank you..I subscribed immediately.
I have those woodpeckers here in my yard they always hang out on my Gumtree!! Honestly, I hate the gumball trees because I love walking around barefoot, now, I think I fell in love with my Gumball tree!! Thanks Hunter!!
In rural north Louisiana, we chewed the sap for gum. Took some experience to get it right. Too hard/dry, it was hard to chew. Too soft and it would stick to teeth like glue.
Saw a pair of ivory billed , definitely not the pleated which I still see from time to time, maybe 15 to 20 years ago back when a lot of us still had flip phones which I don't think they had a built in camera. Watched them from my truck for a long time, they were going crazy after grubs in a dead hollowed out standing tree they were so strikingly beautiful. This was in Conroe Texas believe it or not right when you come through a bunch of woods into Lowe's and Sam's parking lot. Wish I would have had my camera phone then that I have today.
If you knew the real history of the "extinction" of the ivory billed wood peckers and the search for remaining populations then you wouldnt cauually claim seeing one. And unless youve got some deep old growth cypress property with the right volume of dead trees then you wouldnt have any. Youve got a better chance of being visited by two flying saucers from another solsr system rather than seeing ivory billed wood peckers.
I have a giant specimen in my front yard. It is about 4 feet in diameter at the base of the trunk and probable 65 to 70 feet tall. It is putting on gumballs right now and I think that I'll have to collect some tomorrow. I knew that I bought the bottle of everclear for something.
They always have beautiful fall foliage, at least around here, ranging from yellow through orange and red, so an almost black. I think people consider them trash trees becauee they're messy and the seed balls can be a hazard. Coming to a stop in winter on a street littered with those things is dangerous.
Thank you , wonderful video . I don 't remember if you mentioned that the reason most people ( at least East Texas ) keep the tree is it is a wonderful fast growing shade tree . I always liked it's scent.
This is awesome!! I have been looking for herbal information for plants in southeastern Texas and yes, this grows here. I am so happy to have found you, because I know my northern European herbs but not much here in Texas. I am subscribing to your channel!!❤❤
I think there is one of those ivory billed woodpeckers in my yard. We have sweet gum trees all around and there is a woodpecker that comes around that is absolutely HUGE. It's the biggest I've ever seen and we also have the regular woodpeckers so you can really tell the size difference.
Thanks for a very informative and thorough video. I love that you mentioned Tommie Bass and Darryl Patton. I have wayyyy too many sweetgum trees so I will be trying these methods as well. ❤
Just ran across your video an thank you for the wonderful information on the gum tree I have 15 acres loaded with the gum tree I will definitely start utilizing them for there medicinal uses . 16 years ago I moved here and at the time had a red an black wood pecker here I wouldn't swear as to the actual identity of the bird just the color an it love the gum trees , I have another one I hear but have not payed no attention to get a description.
I have 3 large sweetgum trees in my backyard. Have decided to have them cut down. The sweetgum balls are hard to get up even on riding mower. Maybe I need to rethink my decision. Oh, I've seen and heard many red-headed woodpeckers tap tap tapping in the trees. Thank you for giving information on the medical uses of the trees.
When I was a kid my dad taught me to gather up sweet gum balls in a pile and burn them and create really hot coals then we would catch fish pack them in gumbo mud and place them in the hot coals when the gumbo turned almost white we would take it out of the fire and score along the edge of the gumbo cracking open the inside of the gumbo and the fish would be steamed cooked and usually the scales or the skin would protect the meat from the dirt and you could pull the bones right out add salt and pepper and eat it. It was great for survival and another tool to throw in your survival bag
I'm from S.E. Michigan, Zone 5, and when I Googled sweetgum, it said that they are not native to my area but can be grown here. Thanks so much for this great video!
I use gumballs to mulch my flower garden to keep the critters out, while serving as a weed barrier of sorts. Now, I'll be checking out the others uses posted here. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. We can never know too much.
Thank you for making your course financially possible So many are prohibitively expensive. $27 even old folks on Soc Sec can scrape up. Thank you! (But I haven't seen a Sweet Gum in years. Guess it's time for a trip to the country.
My neighbor had one of these and now lives in the country and her and her husband make Okie Ocho salsa and sell it. I am going to send her a link for this video
Im on a large parcel of woods in eastern sc and i have had a heart for reasons trees, plants,flowers are needed. And with this video here , i thank you for the exceptional information on the sweet gum. Now i know what i am to do. Thank you and will be patiently waiting for more wonderful information you have to teach to us. Your very blessed.
When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s , my grandfather would take me out in the woods and we would gather up the sap of sweet gum’s and chew it like gum. I still do occasionally but it sticks to your teeth until you chew awhile
Elgin in N IL, my city planted 2 sweetgums for my street trees. Nvr saw one b4, beautiful in fall: yellow orange red purple green leaves! Glad to learn so many medicinal uses! 🙏🏻 They do seems to plant themselves. Hope not invasive.
Where may I buy the sweet gum sap? I was able to find the green sweet gum balls. Also, one of the better, complete and more informative videos I've seen!!
WOW! Thank you so much!!! I am moving to my daughter’s prop which has lots of old and new Sweetgum trees and I am ALL about Mother Earth’s remedies so I intend to try all of these! I take wildlife photos, especially birds, so I am excited about finding finches! AND my daughter just told me about a giant woodpecker on her prop. Oh my goodness that will be exciting to get a photo of that one!!!!! Thank you again.
I was gathering sweet gum yesterday to make a tincture. I love that there a couple other uses from this tree. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I enjoy all your videos.
1. Gumballs placed/piled around the base of hostas discourage slugs from climbing up and eating holes in the plant.
2. Dry, brown gumballs can be used in a campfire or even indoor fireplace..they flame up, then remain for a long time as small coals.
3. As a child, we would spray with paint and sprinkle glitter on gumballs to make pretty little ornaments for our indoor and our outdoor Christmas trees.
Cool things to know! I think I'll paint some for Christmas!
Cool !...Thanks...
I make wreaths out of the gumballs after they are dry. I am in Ohio so you have to know where to find these trees. Beautiful for crafts!
@@stacystepp7914 great ! we used a chopstick inserted into the gumball to hold them while spray painting.
Brown ones sprayed with clear acrylic make gorgeous wreaths.. have fun 🌷
@@primesspct2 yes 😊
My people perish for lack of Knowledge Hosea 4:6 Bible Thank you for sharing the knowledge.
God said, look, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;.....
God is good!❤
I call it the Lego tree! Stepping on those gumballs is as bad as stepping on a lego!😮
Lol... right!
Lol 😂😂😂😂😂For REAL ! 😂😂😂😂❤
😅😂🤣 Yep! Been there! Grew up with a couple of huge ones around the house .
🇭🇲🦘🦘🇭🇲
Yeah, but my cat LOVES to play with them. We will hear him chasing one around in the living room early in the mornings.
Stay away from Chinese chestnut trees there way worse
I've always seen the gum tree as a pain, you have opened up my understanding that it just may relieve the pain of my ills, at 70 you can teach an old dog a new formula for natural health 😊
A m e n
With me living in a sweet gum forest on 5 acres this was really informative
Same here, I have two of the biggest gum trees I have ever seen in my yard ( i don't think two big grown men could get their arms around the trunk) gladly they are not close toy house. They seem to always have broken limbs falling out the tree and those damn gun balls get stuck in the pulley of my lawnmower and pops the belt off.
I found your site a few weeks ago. I'm a 70 year retired and a field biologist educated at Delta State University. I like your presentation and the information is great. Thanks
Thank you for watching, glad you enjoyed it!
Field biologist sounds really interesting. What did you do? I kinda hate my current profession and if entry isn't too onerous, I might just switch over. Very interested in working outdoors.
@@LegacyWildernessAcademy Does this tree grow in Ohio woods?Thanks
@@lessummers5738
Yes it does.
At least it does on my property.
@@lessummers5738you can check the iNaturalist map for the species.
Just the way every part of this tree smells tells me it has medicinal properties!
Just wanted you to know I appreciate you. I'm an old country boy born in 65 raised in the Carolina swamps. I'm grateful for the history. Now you grabbed my attention with the ivory billed woodpecker? Please, elaborate in a video your knowledge of this bird. Because, as a boy growing up like where the red fern grows, I believe I saw one. But, that would have been in like 1979.
And it wasn't a Pileated woodpecker. There is a visible difference in size.
Yep, the size is a dead give away. Saw one in the mid 70s at my grandparents home on the central Gulf coast of Florida. AMAZING bird!
I live in Georgia in a wooded area and we have several pilleated woodpeckers living in our area. The ivory billed which looked very similar is extinct.You can hear the pilleated more than see them. They make a hammering sound in the woods, very loud. They are very large woodpeckers.
This is also used in Tamiflu
A Country boy can survive 😉
Wonderful video. You have become my favorite to watch when it comes to herbalist type content. One because we live in the same state but also because your not like all the others that want to charge you an arm and a leg to teach you about the ways to break things down into tinctures and teas. Yes it's ok to teach paid for classes that get really in depth but it's great just to be able to learn the basics for free. Thank you so much for letting me learn something new on a daily.
So true! And what I really like is that he's not a show off acting like he's the only one who knows everything.
He tells people when he doesn't know.
Learn Your Land is Adam Haridan's channel in Pennsylvania. He's really informative also on the identification of the forest trees, plants and mushrooms.
beautiful, thank you Matthew 🦋
In Australia and New Zealand, gum tree always refers to one of a number of Australian eucalypts. The gum tree you are talking about is called a liquid ambar, fast growing and best kept away from housing because its invasive roots quickly take over drainage systems!
Thank you so much for educating us on the Sweet Gum Tree. I have spent many years raking up the sweet gum balls from our yard (several wheel barrow loads each winter) and had no idea they are part of God's healing gift to us. We had to cut down two humongous Sweet Gum Trees because they were dropping limbs and we were afraid the trees were going to fall on the house in a hurricane. We still have plenty around the perimeter of our yard and in the forest that surrounds our home. We have so many of the plants and trees that you have talked about in your videos. I truly appreciate you and the work you have put into these videos and your book.
My granddaddy, born in 1911 in South Alabama, told me that when he was young the old folks used sweet gum twigs both to clean teeth & to roll in a tin of snuff, then keep that in their mouths. His grandma had lost most of her teeth & he used to chew a twig for her to dip in snuff.
That was very sweet of him to do that for her
My mother grew up very poor post Depression era, they said they would chew up the ends of the twigs into brushes to brush their teeth with it.
😵
Grandmother used willow twigs to brush her snuff. She used red seal. When she sent me to the store, she would tell me to look for the red dove on the lid. She had all her teeth when she died.
Black gum makes better "toothbrushes".
Maaaaaaan, that makes so much sense now why I would always see sweet gum trees that were missing an oval of bark growing up.
You saved our tree! I was wanting to cut it down but my husband was hesitant and now I don't want to cut it down! I SO appreciate you showing how to use locally grown plants. It is a NEEDED subject. We always think the plants from elsewhere or bought from a well know herb supplier is the best. I learned alot from your free guide, thank you! Will you be doing more classes?
That's the goal, thank you for watching!
@@LegacyWildernessAcademyI just found your page and have Subscribed and Sharing your site!!! Thank You!
The town I'm from is called Gum Branch,it's named for the trees.
Like several other comments, I have grumbled my way thru fall and the annoying gumballs in my back yard. Never had a clue as to why anyone would plant them in a suburban neighborhood! I will look with more favor on this gift of nature, and thank you for a very educational video.
Thank you for such an informative video ! I’m so grateful to have had family teach me about living off the land as a little girl. My grandfather, a Jack of all trades, harvested pine sap into clay cups to sell for turpentine production. Fortunately, I have saved and use many of those beautiful old cups to line a garden path. My mother, a Great Depression survivor, said she and her friends substituted sweet gum sap for chewing gum when they could afford none. I don’t think they knew about the medicinal uses however. And we must not overlook the ruby red beauty of this tree in the fall, good for the soul!
Did he use the turpentine medicinally?
Lol, don’t go barefoot. I used to have one in my backyard. It was a twin tree and my kids love to play with them, but they are sharp little stickers.
I can remember helping my grandma collect the sap, but she never injured a tree to collect it. She just collected whatever naturally leaked out and she started a little can in her medicine box.
I have several on my property, but I never see any sap leaking.
I wouldnt collect the way he did in this video. Thats a big wound.
My mom had several of these in a corner of her backyard. A twin one broke off at the base in a storm and fell completely thru the middle of her house. Took an extremely long time to repair and the house was only a couple of years old.
yeah, 100% do not replicate this harvesting method. that was hard to watch and a huge sign of inexperience.
@@LionsHoney13yeah the inexperience is your lack of knowledge of these practices that have existed longer than current humanity
As a kid, we used to call it a gumball or sycamore tree. Every year we would rake the dried balls and use it as a filler in our parking space on the property. Never knew it was medicinal. I think my grandmother would have appreciated it even more than she did.
That could have been sycamore, which looks a bit similar and also medicinal. The bark on sycamore falls off on it's own and is helpful for poison ivy itching.
@@SnedeskHow so?
The sycamore is a completely different tree.
@@Snedesk Whoa...Thanks!... very helpful info !
The sycamore balls are not spiky like the sweet gum balls!
Thankyou for your videos. I remember as a little girl my Grand Daddy using the gumballs and leaves for medicine. Also he would sell the gumballs to Florist along with his beautiful glads
When our neighbor had her sweet gum tree removed we got a truck load of the wood chips and used it as mulch and freshen trails through our native plants area. Quite a few seedlings appeared and neighbors told me not to let them grow because of the balls being a nuisance, so I dug up a few and planted them in a local park that was overrun with many invasive plants. I kept one near our mail box and keep it small and as a trellis for a native honeysuckle vine. After seeing this video I’m glad I have a use for the leaves each time I cut it back. Thx.
We have 4 of these on our property that are all 30-100 years of age. Tons of these gumballs in the yard. We have been making a tincture for flu prevention, using them in garden areas for slug repellents, etc.
My family lives an hour southwest of Augusta, GA, and we have many large sweet gum trees on our property, one of which has had a wood pecker feeding from it for the entire twenty years that we've lived on the property; I'm not sure of the species, but it's fairly large, looks black and white from ground level when it's in flight, and it also feeds from a large black gum tupelo tree that's also on our property.
Do you know Carrollton Ga?
I know of it, and have been near it going into Alabama on the interstate, but have never been there.
I’ve seen this type of Woodpecker in and around our yard also.
We live in the Martinez Ga. That’s a huge Woodpecker!
@@hollykitchens2381.. are you in harris, troup or meriwether county? I have sweetgum all over my property as well. Same general location.
Cornell Ornithology Lab's website and Merlin app are great for bird identification.
Ditto on basically every comment!!! I’m 60 and all my life I thought they were a nuisance tree and dreaded cleaning them up. Why are we not taught stuff like this in school as kids. I’ve also learned about Mimosa trees medicinal properties too and now am learning about Mullein and stinging Nettles. I’m hooked on learning these age old uses for our ailments seeing how I’ve lost all faith in the pharmaceutical industry after 2020. Especially after Rockefeller destroyed our earthly natural medicines were scrubbed for dangerous petroleum products to replace them with synthetic drugs that keep us sick.
This was a wonderful lesson. Thank you. You have absolutley improved my opinion of the Sweet Gum.
Thank you! I grew up with these trees, gumballs, they were a thousand different props in our make believe fun.
Greetings from Mobile County Alabama and sweet gum trees are everywhere on our property. Only bad thing about the tree, they snap easily in storms
I wanted to comment the day this aired but you know...life . My Mamaw also called this the toothbrush tree because as a girl they used the sweet gum tree for teeth cleaning. She showed me how. And she would chew the "gum" just for fun😊. I'm enjoying your videos
That was the first ingredient in gum. Kids loved to scrape it and.. it was gum! Before there was gum!
Thanks Matthew, it is great that you site the importance of this tree for wildlife, strangely enough so many other trees that are considered "trash trees" are very important for migrating flocks. Like the Cherry Laurel.
Those seeds are the Doctrine of Signature for sure. Thank you for posting.
The bark and trunks of Sweet Gum and Maple trees are very different. It is just as easy to identify a tree by its trunk and canopy as from the leaves. I was taught as a young girl how to do so by my father.
Had this tree In our yard as a kid. Dad gave us a quarter per bucket of the Sweetgum balls. I also made small Christmas trees by putting toothpicks in the holes of the balls, stacking like a tree and spray painting. Good table decoration.
That woodpecker IS alive and well, have several in the area of my home in Pa! See them frequently!
They supposedly have been spotted here in Louisiana, I don’t know if it’s the Ivory Bill they have seen or if it’s the Pileated Woodpecker. We have several patches of old growth trees which they prefer.
Thank you for this great information!
Thanks for sharing all this knowledge! I’ve made the tincture from tulip tree bark for my arthritis. Praise the Lord, it works!!!! Next I’ll make the sweet gum medicine next. God bless you sir!
Thank you for watching!!
Unless there’s another red-headed woodpecker that looks like the endangered one… we have two of them that hang around our yard on a near-daily basis here in central AR. And they come back year after year. If you can’t find them where you are, you’re welcome to come see ours. ✌🏼
So glad I found your channel and hearing you talk about Tommie Bass and Daryl Patton. I have heard Daryl speak many times and always learn something. His book is invaluable. Looking forward to seeing your other videos.
My grandmother called those trees Mohawk, and my neighbor who was born in the 1800's called them Apollo Trees. I heard a 4th name for them but I cant remember it. My neighbors had a fantastic 1930s International Style house and all the interior walls were gum wood, they glowed like honey held up in the sun. I sure wish the Ivory Bill was still around but if you see the videos of them they were very friendly to humans, too friendly. So I dont know why they would suddenly be evasive for 80 years.
I've not heard of those names. What region was your grandmother and neighbor in?
We used to Throw them at each other like snow balls ...when we were children...So glad to know We can use them as meds....Thank You Again
Thank you for this info! I never understood why my neighbors hated sweet gum trees so much. I sensed something was special about them and I was fascinated with the star shape of their seed pods. I'm so happy to now know what I must have been sensing...they are profound healers and my two in the front yard are almost 100 years old!
I just watched u carve a bleeding cross on a tree & pinned a can to catch it. Of course its healing! 😁 Wow, that just blew my mind. 🤯
By his stripes we are healed. Isn't amazing how God is in the details?
this tree has the look of a maple tree. i have one in my front yard, and i'll have to go and ID it correctly today. it wasn,t until you mentioned the woodpecker, this tree had numerous woodpecker holes in it , so the woodpecker has ID'd my sweetgum tree LOL
Thanks for an informative lesson, Matthew. My undergraduate degree is in Botany, so I do enjoy your video posts. I particularly like that you explain the meaning and origins of the binomial nomenclature. As to the medicinal uses of the sweet gum, I had no idea. I should have gone to graduate school. Previous to this information, the only thing that came to mind with mention of this tree is that it is a bear to split for firewood. For those that don't know, the grain of the wood is not straight, which makes it extremely difficult to split with an axe. You are going to want a hydraulic log splitter.
Thank you! I always learn from and ENJOY your videos!
Thank you for watching! I appreciate it!
❤❤❤ can't wait to harvest my own perfume and medicine THANK YOU 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for watching!
Its Used in TCM- BAI JIAO XIANG its used as a a Blood moving herb aka emmenagogue, though it is used for things you listed ( expect colds flu aka wind evils)
STYRAX or SU HE XIANG is also used in TCM. My Teacher Taught that STYRAX is made with a different Resin.
The fruit or LU LU TONG is used as well. It's a POWERFUL Blood and QI mover and disperses wind cold damp- all these contribute to PAIN in TCM.
It can induce TACHYCARDIA or palpitations in some ( Chinese Genus)
Love what your doing here! Great to see local herbs that can be used in a TCM model.
TCM Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Thank you for sharing! That's great information ❤
@@Ichinen220I'm not the person you're asking ,but yes.
I have been an Herbalist for over 24 years and when I make my tinctures I always try to put them in on a full moon and take them off on the following full moon. I have always found doing this always produces a stronger tincture. Thank you for this info on the uses of sweetgum!
Phenomenal video, thank you. We moved to SC and have several Sweetgum trees. Also, I've seen the Pilated woodpeckers, not sure if that is the Ivory Billed??? They have a very loud call, sounds like a call a Native Indian may have used years ago. You have an incredible wealth of knowledge and would love to meet up with you if you're anywhere around my neck of the woods. We're way out in the country NW of Walterboro in a small town. Originally, my husband and I lived up North, however, we decided to make our home out here since April of 2022, where the climate is more suitable to our liking. Unfortunately, one year after we moved here my husband became very sick with a rare leukemia and sadly he is now on home hospice....I've been diligently, and lovingly, caring for him during his final stages, so needless to say have very little time to put into myself and my great love for nature and all it's goodness. I had previously started a couple of large gardens and managed to make one tincture but had to let everything go.....Sadly, he as nearing the final stage and my focus is caring for him, it is all consuming now but eventually I will have time to invest in my life. I've always been fascinated with GOD'S nature and all the incredible uses for plants, trees, flowers, herbs, and even weeds. I will be searching for like minded friends that share the same interests as I, GOD willing!
I live in Southeastern Mississippi. We actually have about three pairs of these woodpeckers on our property. we call them Indian Hens I don't know where that otiginated. We hear them often, see them rarely. We see them most when the popcorn tree is blooming. They love them!! I really enjoy your videos. Educational and you are easy to listen to.
I had no idea these had so many uses! I've grown up around them my whole life. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for watching, glad you learned something!
All my neighbors have cut down their sweet gums bc they find them annoying. My yard didn't have any but I will be keeping an eye out for one to transplant. I prefer trees and birds over a pristine mowed yard. 😊 Love that I can educate them on it's medicinal powers now. Thank you..I subscribed immediately.
I have those woodpeckers here in my yard they always hang out on my Gumtree!!
Honestly, I hate the gumball trees because I love walking around barefoot, now, I think I fell in love with my Gumball tree!! Thanks Hunter!!
What a glorious plant! My friend used to have a scientific print picture of an ivory billed woodpecker on his living room wall.
I'm in ohio and we have sweet gum all over the place. Thanks
Great information. I have hundreds of sweet gum trees on my property. There are also lots of woodpeckers , and fletchers.
Now you know when the birds are done with them that you can collect and sell them.
In rural north Louisiana, we chewed the sap for gum. Took some experience to get it right. Too hard/dry, it was hard to chew. Too soft and it would stick to teeth like glue.
I'm in north Louisiana and we did this as well... my grandmaw showed me how
Hey neighbors
I have a brand new appreciation for this tree. Thank you! I watched the whole thing! Have LOVED your content
Awesome, glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for watching!
Saw an ivory billed on my property in NE Texas
Pictures?
Pileated Woodpecker most likely. They are very common here in Louisiana and look nearly identical to the Ivorybill.
@@WayneTheSeine probably then. Just caught my eye because it was so big actually tried to follow it but have bad eyes and didn't have my binocs.
Saw a pair of ivory billed , definitely not the pleated which I still see from time to time, maybe 15 to 20 years ago back when a lot of us still had flip phones which I don't think they had a built in camera. Watched them from my truck for a long time, they were going crazy after grubs in a dead hollowed out standing tree they were so strikingly beautiful. This was in Conroe Texas believe it or not right when you come through a bunch of woods into Lowe's and Sam's parking lot. Wish I would have had my camera phone then that I have today.
If you knew the real history of the "extinction" of the ivory billed wood peckers and the search for remaining populations then you wouldnt cauually claim seeing one. And unless youve got some deep old growth cypress property with the right volume of dead trees then you wouldnt have any. Youve got a better chance of being visited by two flying saucers from another solsr system rather than seeing ivory billed wood peckers.
There is a big Sweet Gum Tree in the back yard here in NE Ohio. So, it does grow in a northern climate as well. Thanks for your video.
I have a giant specimen in my front yard. It is about 4 feet in diameter at the base of the trunk and probable 65 to 70 feet tall. It is putting on gumballs right now and I think that I'll have to collect some tomorrow. I knew that I bought the bottle of everclear for something.
@@itsmesrd8743 we had one as well as a child. Fun fact : people actually SELL bags of them on line for making crafts.
Lol
@@carolyn9444 bet i could make a fortune, this tree puts out many thousands every year
I was just wondering yesterday what uses the gum tree had. Thank you for filling my curiosity and the helpful knowledge. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for watching and commenting, glad the video helped!
Most people consider sweetgum trees trash trees, so you don’t see them in the city much. I searched for one to make Christmas ornaments.
I’ve noticed that many of the medicinal plants have been vilified by today’s standards as unwanted weeds or trash plants. It’s interesting.
They always have beautiful fall foliage, at least around here, ranging from yellow through orange and red, so an almost black.
I think people consider them trash trees becauee they're messy and the seed balls can be a hazard. Coming to a stop in winter on a street littered with those things is dangerous.
Thank you , wonderful video . I don 't remember if you mentioned that the reason most people ( at least East Texas ) keep the tree is it is a wonderful fast growing shade tree . I always liked it's scent.
Thank you Matthew. I have a large gum tree in my back yard. Sweet!
This is awesome!! I have been looking for herbal information for plants in southeastern Texas and yes, this grows here. I am so happy to have found you, because I know my northern European herbs but not much here in Texas. I am subscribing to your channel!!❤❤
I am not in Texas but have found a lot of good info on the Foraging Texas website.
I think there is one of those ivory billed woodpeckers in my yard. We have sweet gum trees all around and there is a woodpecker that comes around that is absolutely HUGE. It's the biggest I've ever seen and we also have the regular woodpeckers so you can really tell the size difference.
Thanks for a very informative and thorough video. I love that you mentioned Tommie Bass and Darryl Patton. I have wayyyy too many sweetgum trees so I will be trying these methods as well. ❤
I was the same as viewing this tree as a nuisance but not anymore! Thank you for opening my eyes to this.
Just ran across your video an thank you for the wonderful information on the gum tree I have 15 acres loaded with the gum tree I will definitely start utilizing them for there medicinal uses . 16 years ago I moved here and at the time had a red an black wood pecker here I wouldn't swear as to the actual identity of the bird just the color an it love the gum trees , I have another one I hear but have not payed no attention to get a description.
Enjoyed learning about all about the gun ball tree and how to use it as medicine. I've always loved their balls/cones.
I have 3 large sweetgum trees in my backyard. Have decided to have them cut down. The sweetgum balls are hard to get up even on riding mower. Maybe I need to rethink my decision. Oh, I've seen and heard many red-headed woodpeckers tap tap tapping in the trees. Thank you for giving information on the medical uses of the trees.
You can get manual rollers or use a shop vac for collection.
When I was a kid my dad taught me to gather up sweet gum balls in a pile and burn them and create really hot coals then we would catch fish pack them in gumbo mud and place them in the hot coals when the gumbo turned almost white we would take it out of the fire and score along the edge of the gumbo cracking open the inside of the gumbo and the fish would be steamed cooked and usually the scales or the skin would protect the meat from the dirt and you could pull the bones right out add salt and pepper and eat it. It was great for survival and another tool to throw in your survival bag
I must have 100 gum trees on my 23 acres. I’m definitely going to try this!
As a child we used small sweet gum branches to brush teeth/ as my grandma showed us/. Love, love your video. Thank you much!!
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it
I have the Ivory Build Woodpecker. I love them. They really like raw peanuts. If I'm not on time taking them outside they'll let me know.
Fantastic information and presentation! I hope you spot the ivory-billed soon!
I'm from S.E. Michigan, Zone 5, and when I Googled sweetgum, it said that they are not native to my area but can be grown here. Thanks so much for this great video!
I use gumballs to mulch my flower garden to keep the critters out, while serving as a weed barrier of sorts. Now, I'll be checking out the others uses posted here. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. We can never know too much.
I live in Kentucky and sweet gum trees pop up like weeds and are very fast growing. The fragrance is wonderful.
Thank you for making your course financially possible So many are prohibitively expensive. $27 even old folks on Soc Sec can scrape up. Thank you! (But I haven't seen a Sweet Gum in years. Guess it's time for a trip to the country.
Great information, very well presented. Expert and helpful. Thanks! ✨🏆
My neighbor had one of these and now lives in the country and her and her husband make
Okie Ocho salsa and sell it. I am going to send her a link for this video
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge on this sacred subject.
Im on a large parcel of woods in eastern sc and i have had a heart for reasons trees, plants,flowers are needed. And with this video here , i thank you for the exceptional information on the sweet gum. Now i know what i am to do. Thank you and will be patiently waiting for more wonderful information you have to teach to us. Your very blessed.
When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s , my grandfather would take me out in the woods and we would gather up the sap of sweet gum’s and chew it like gum. I still do occasionally but it sticks to your teeth until you chew awhile
As kids we would look for the gummy sap. We used it as chewing gum.
Great video and so many great comments! Subbed!
We used to have wars with the dried gumballs, walnuts too. Long before the internet.
Thank you for this very informative upload. Your knowledge and experience is very much appreciated.
Keep informing the people...
All those twigs you discarded are a great resource for bark instead of stripping trees.
iF YOU WAITED FOR DECADES...MAYBE...STFU
Grateful for this glimpse into your 🧠 kind sir
🙏 love from south Ga 🇺🇸
I just found you! I’ve been working on making everything in my yard either medicinal or edible! You are a treasure!
I've always hated those seed pods. Now, thanks to you, I can appreciate them! Thanks for the info!
Elgin in N IL, my city planted 2 sweetgums for my street trees. Nvr saw one b4, beautiful in fall: yellow orange red purple green leaves! Glad to learn so many medicinal uses! 🙏🏻 They do seems to plant themselves. Hope not invasive.
We have one of these trees across the street from me and I am thrilled to get this information about it. Thank you.
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
Where may I buy the sweet gum sap? I was able to find the green sweet gum balls. Also, one of the better, complete and more informative videos I've seen!!
Fantastic Science, Conservation, Nature, Medical, Fragrance lessons ❤❤❤❤❤❤
This is amazing information. I download the book. Thank you very much.
Thanks for doing this video! These trees are so underrated! Although stepping on the gum balls barefoot is a pain in the… foot!😂 ❤from North Carolina!
WOW! Thank you so much!!! I am moving to my daughter’s prop which has lots of old and new Sweetgum trees and I am ALL about Mother Earth’s remedies so I intend to try all of these! I take wildlife photos, especially birds, so I am excited about finding finches! AND my daughter just told me about a giant woodpecker on her prop. Oh my goodness that will be exciting to get a photo of that one!!!!! Thank you again.
How about a video on Camphor tree uses? They are everywhere in south Alabama.
I live here in Orlando.
Thank you for the work you do.
I was gathering sweet gum yesterday to make a tincture. I love that there a couple other uses from this tree. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I enjoy all your videos.
Thank you for watching!