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An unusual use for Sweet Gum trees?

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Posted by ashli z7GA. (My Page) on
Fri, Feb 17, 06 at 22:00

We have one large Sweet Gum tree...never thought about using the pods...
But...when I was growing up...there were many of those trees...and they sure were appreciated by many people...
Can you guess why?

For the gum!
Anyone else ever chewed the sap from the tree?
Ever heard of such?...will you admit it?...ha
In the Spring, March is a good month, people would remove some of the bark from the trees, not alot, just here and there, and wait until Fall for the sap to run...or, some would say, to rise...and then kids would eagerly scrape up the sap...you could/can put the sap on paper or into a container and let it dry before chewing...it hardened into a firm but chewable state. We just called it sweet gum.
We had one teacher who paid a boy in our class to bring her Sweet Gum...
Many people loved the undescrible taste...some said it had a hint- of- sugar to it.
Yes, we could afford the store-bought gum. (loved my bubble gum)
Does it sound unhealthy?...we were very healthy young-uns!
Several years ago, DH scraped the bark off our tree...the "gum" tasted different...taste changes along with age and climate...but I'm thnking...come March...
Sap anyone?

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RE: An unusual use for Sweet Gum trees?

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I did as a child, but not much, because I didn't particularly like the taste, and because we didn't have a tree close to us.
Made Christmas ornaments last year--glued a toothpick in every hole and spray painted them white. Some with half toothpicks, too.

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