American Sweetgum Closeup

During a late October walk at Long Hill Gardens, I noticed this tree that I have often overlooked, maybe because it is so close to a row of ornamental flowering trees. But I noticed it this time, maybe because as the leaves were turning colors, the tree became multicolored: purple, red, orange, green. And that made the star-shaped leaves more obviously. I went closer to take some pictures and noticed that the tree was marked (like a lot of the trees at Long Hill), and it is "American Sweetgum". I think it's a great tree, slightly comical. I said to my daughter, who was with me, "That's the kind of tree Dr. Seuss would make. . .if Dr. Seuss made trees." And she said, "But Dr. Seuss did make trees." And she was right. He did.