Side by side

Sweetgum or London plane? How to tell them apart

Liquidambar styraciflua · Platanus × hispanica

How to tell them apart – sweetgum: star-shaped leaf and spiky balls; London plane: larger, less star-shaped leaf and flaking bark.

Updated on 10 October 2026

Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0 · source

Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua

Photo: Anna reg, CC BY-SA 3.0 at · source

London plane Platanus × hispanica

How do you recognise them?

Sweetgum: Glossy, star-shaped, alternate leaf, corky ridges on the twigs and spiky balls.; Compared with London plane: star-shaped leaf and spiky balls.
London plane: Maple-like leaf that is alternate, flaking ‘camouflage’ bark and hanging balls.; Compared with sweetgum: larger, less star-shaped leaf and flaking bark.

Sweetgum and London plane side by side
	Sweetgum	London plane
Leaves	Alternate, star-shaped with 5–7 pointed, finely toothed lobes, glossy. Smells resinous when crushed.	Alternate, palmately lobed with 3–5 lobes, 12–25 cm. The base of the leaf stalk is hollow and encloses the bud.
Flowering	April–May	May
Fruit	Spiky, woody balls 2–4 cm across on a long stalk.	Hanging balls 2–3 cm across, often in pairs, which break up in winter into fluffy seeds.
Bark	Grey-brown and furrowed; young twigs often have corky ridges.	Peels off in large patches, creating a mottled pattern of grey, green and yellow.
Shape and height	Broadleaf tree, 20–30 m	Broadleaf tree, 25–40 m
Site	Full sun, acid soil, normal	Full sun, any garden soil, normal
Native to Belgium	No, planted	No, planted
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Little	Little
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous	Not known to be poisonous
Pruning months	November–March	November–March

Sweetgum (20–30 m) and London plane (25–40 m) both grow into large trees: too big for an ordinary garden, but fine in a large garden, a park or a meadow.

This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.