Altingiaceae

This very small Family has been, as a result of recent taxonomic treatments, hived off from the Hamamelidaceae. It contains only three very closely related genera – which may eventually, as a result of further study, be lumped into one single genus. Currently the genera included here are Altingia, Liquidambar and Semiliquidambar of which only Liquidambar has relevance as an ornamental for cultivation in cool temperate climates.

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Liquidambar

This small genus of highly ornamental, deciduous, single trunked trees includes four species with temperate climate distributions – L. acalycina (China), L. formosana (South East Asia), L. orientalis (Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean) and L. styraciflua (Eastern North America) – all worthy of cultivation in the UK.

All the species are noted for their autumn colour; they have palmate leaves with three to seven lobes which turn, eventually, to deep shades of red. The leaves are aromatic when crushed. There is, currently, an increasing tendency to selection with the regular appearance of new cultivars. These are normally propagated by budding or grafting and thus there is a requirement for the production of seedlings for use as rootstocks; although the market for seedlings as ornamental subjects will take time to decline markedly.

The flowers are numerous, yellow, individually small and are clustered together in a dense spherical structure. These give rise to the fruit which becomes a dense woody globular cluster of numerous seeds - about 4 to 5cm in diameter; the ends of the seeds have a pointed hook making the whole fruit prickly – to aid dissemination on animal coats.

The fruits are collected just before they mature on the tree - when they will break up naturally and disseminate the winged seeds. If dried gently, in a paper bag, the fruits will break up easily and the seeds can be separated from the detritus by tumbling and/or shaking - then they can be cleaned in an air flow.

The seeds have a shallow, physiological dormancy which becomes deeper the more northerly or higher the provenance. Generally a chill, of the imbibed seeds, for 35 days at 3˚C will be sufficient – even seeds from warm provenances perform better if chilled. The seeds will then germinate prolifically, in only a few days, at 20˚C.