In East Tennessee this tall "teepee" shaped tree is often called a Gumball tree, due to the golf ball sized fruit with sharp points. It loves the acidic soil in the is area and propagates fairly easily. It is a hardwood with important lumber value.
Leaf of the Sweetgum. Notice the star shape and 5 nodes.
COurtesy of the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 235.
COurtesy of the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 235.