Making a Map Piece From Spiky Gumball Wood | Georgia's Sweetgum | Justinthetrees US Tree Map 

Hey Justin, I work in landscaping and recently had to remove a paw paw tree (Asimina triloba), one of the largest I've ever seen. The tree had been damaged when a branch of a larger tree fell on it in a storm. They're usually a tall thin shrub but this one was thicker than a baseball bat. I was able to save some of the wood thankfully and I'd love to send it to you if you'd like. I think it'd make a great maryland map piece or really anything since this is such a unique and beautiful species. It's edible fruits have snacks for both animals and humans for centuries, though it's bark and leaves are toxic. It's inner bark was a favorite of native peoples for making cord and string, and the toxin present in its leaves has historically been used as an insecticide. I'm not much of a woodworker myself so I'd love to see a tree cut down before it's prime used for something.

I’m so happy you talk about the indigenous uses! I was raised on a reservation so I’ve been hearing about different stories and benefits for my whole life and I’m happy it’s getting recognized!

We always called them "poky balls" as kids and I still call them that! Beautiful wood but I've rolled my ankle on the dried-out seed pods too many times to feel joy when I see it 😂

I haven't watched fully yet, but I'm already so excited for the video!! I started growing a Kentucky Coffeetree after the Kentucky episode!!

Man seeing those dried gumballs gave me so much nostalgia, finding them all over the woods when growing up there. The trees were always GORGEOUS in the fall!

I think it’d be crazy cool if you made California out of the Paradox Walnut Tree. It’s not native to California or anywhere really but it was created by Luther Burbank in Santa Rosa CA and it has some beautiful wood and it’s a super interesting tree and since it used 2 trees to create it you could talk about fun things from each of them too.

Growing up in Georgia I saw these all the time. Had multiple in my backyard. This was very nostalgic for me lol

My church used to have this giant gumball tree right near a walk way. They recently had to cut it down because too many elderly members of the church were rolling their ankles on the pesky things. They did plant a new tree in its place and the little guy is growing nicely. Though I do miss the gumball tree in the fall, gorgeous colors!!

I love sweet gum! We have them all over my city as decorative trees and they're gorgeous in the fall next to all the yellow and maroon ashes. Also, my mom and I love the spiky balls. We joke that they're what's left over from making Proginoskes, the cherubim from Madeleine l'Engel's "A Wind at the Door". He's a ball of wings and eyes, so they must have taken all the leftover beaks and put them in the gumballs.

Another great video, I love how informative these are. Keep up the good work.

it's crazy how gorgeous and rich the color in this wood is without stain

My grandpa used to give a chocolate bar to whichever grandkid could pick up the most of these in his yard. Very sly of him.

The gum balls remind me of sea urchins

KNEW Georgia would be next from that recent short 😆 Looks great, love the stripes! 🤎

I can’t believe how perfectly you can carve out each state. Love the streaks; reminds me of sedimentary rock layers.

When ever I see these tress and see the gum balls, it always reminds me of my childhood growing up... Thanks for the video

Why did you stop making the secondary products, like bowls or knives and such, from the wood? I loved watching that along with the awesome recipes, it was such a fun part of the first videos of this new really awesome series. Would love for you to bring that segment back!! Also, as a native Floridian, I second the Bald Cypress as a great choice. It is iconic to most of southern Florida's landscape with a huge section of the Everglades named after it, Big Cypress Preserve.

They. Are. EVERYWHERE. I go to work when it's still dark and I end up crushing about ten of the gumballs per walk to my car every day. They're so common that when I was in daycare in childhood, we initially used these as currency when we played "store" (basically an excuse to trade for cool rocks, leaves, etc). But since they were so common, they were worthless, and we had to figure out a different currency people could scavenge to make it harder XD

Growing up, my grandparents had a sweetgum tree in the backyard. I made a collection of ornaments by hot-gluing the gumballs together and spray-painting. That was ~30 years ago and they still get put up on my mother's Christmas tree every year.

Hi Justin. If you would like to add Minnesota, the Tamarak (Larix laricina) is a unique tree across the state. Near our capital, several cities [ie Golden Valley] were named for the fact that it is the only coniferous tree that loses its leaves during the winter. It creates this beautiful golden color that highlights how special it is.

Sweetgum balls, bumblebees, rocks, nails, dog poop. I refused to wear shoes or pay attention as a kid, so I stepped on everything. I used to use the balls for Christmas tree decorations sometimes. If you're feeling adventurous, you can paint them gold or silver first. Your Georgia piece is gorgeous!

West Virginia! You can already see the beautiful outline of this slice of heaven! Shagbark hickory would be an awesome tree to see you work for our beautiful state!

oh this makes a gorgeous piece! growing up in DE, my friends and i always called them “monkey balls“ … i’m not really sure where that name came from, but i’ve heard them called all kinds of different names since meeting all kinds of people at college. now its one of those things i always ask people about when talking about the places we’re from. i’m so glad to finally know what tree they come from and why they exist at all lmao

Dude thank you so much for this content, one of my favorite channels ever. You’re a legend.

You absolutely have to do honey mesquite for Texas. Not only is it used for smoking meats, but the pods are actually edible and has historic use. It is a staple here in Texas.

This piece came out so pretty 😊 I've stepped on those gumballs countless times 😂

i love your channel you teach me so much about these trees. im not sure i have these trees in my area sadly though lolz i live in saskatchewan. also i really love that you go over some traditional indigenous uses because as an indigenous person it really makes me feel seen and respected! i know it isnt much and its not like fighting for our rights but its so nice to hear someone talking about our history. especially since even some indigenous folks dont know much about our history (atleast here in canada, its pretty common to be native and not know much about your families history/be raised white). anyways i love binging your videos❤ your recipes you make are also sooo tasty sounding and makes me want to try them whenever i get the chance!

We used to have wars with those things as children. I never knew what they were called and just named them spikeballs. They make excellent weapons and I love them so much.

Sweetgum balls are also known as Witches Burrs & have been used in folk magic & magical spells for generations.

im so happy that georgia got done way earlier. i was kind of disappointed with how late into the seris georgia was previously, but i am greatly satisfied with this. i haven't personally seen one of these but i will keep an eye out from now on!

I love your videos. The state map videos are my favorite but I watch them all!

If you are taking the southern live oak off the table, I want to recommend the bald cypress for Florida. It's iconic throughout our state's swamps and waterways and one of the former oldest trees in the world was a bald cypress.

I live outside Dallas in a town called Waxahachie and we are known for having tons of Crape Myrtles. It’s such a fascinating tree with crazy smooth bark. I’d love to see you do a video on it. Especially since we are moving to another state for a job and I’m going to miss our crape Myrtles in our yard

A lot of people are here to learn about new trees, I'm here to get excited everytime I see a tree I work with. Love me some Liquidambar styraciflua.

The sweet gum actually does give you gum! You can chew the cambium right underneath the bark, it's mildly sweet and you can scrape it off with a blade.

Western Larch for Idaho! It’s Larch Season Babyyyy. Golden mountains galore!

Yup, turned my ankle on one of these suckers last week. Fascinating to learn more about the tree!

I missed you doing a fun side project and or recipe with this one. Hoping to see a mesquite Texas soon.

As a Georgia native I have played with these "gumballs" my entire life. I love your channel ❤

We used to have bunch of these trees in town, but they've sadly been cut down. Very cool tree.

I'm going to continue my campaign for Oregon's beautiful Myrtle wood. 😊❤

The way he said, "If you can look past the BALLS"

Used to use the dried out spiky balls as slingshot ammo growing up lol! We had those all over town in Southern California

An Ohio native here, and was always fascinated by the Sassafras tree growing up and it’s uses, like in root beer. Not sure what the wood grain would finish like, but might be a neat concept for the United States of Trees

I never knew the name of this tree, but I liked kicking the pods and I liked the crazy flanges on the bark. I don’t know what ambergris smells like so I am tempted to have my cousin in Tennessee scoop some sap into a baby food jar and send it to me. That wood is gorgeous. My first love among trees, which don’t produce edible fruit is always Osage orange. I just started looking at your videos, so I’m not sure whether you have one. I went to parochial school, and there were several years which dropped the fruit behind a platform on the playground I remember playing with a friend and we have a great time messing with those wacky things. I also love the bad ass clusters of thorns you sometimes find.

Well that’s gorgeous! We had a sweet gum tree next to the street in front of my house growing up. We always thought the spiky balls were pretty cool

If you use the Sugar Maple for Wisconsin, you should also make a Brandy Old Fashioned sweetened with Maple Syrup. It's a different take on a Wisconsin staple!

You should use sagebrush for the state of Idaho. My grandfather on my mom’s side used to make all kinds of stuff out of it. But he passed away when I was 9 back in the early 90’s. But it’s gorgeous as a wood especially when glossy. 😊

I didn't recognize the tree until you showed the dried gumballs. As a kid growing up in northern Florida, those things were the bane of my playtime existence.

omg Sweetgums, I see those little Gumballs all the time, always fun.

I'm a Filipino viewer, but I know some relatives in Wyoming. So when I searched native trees in the state, you could use either Lodgepole Pine, or Gambel Oak. Both trees are not on the map. I love your woodworking projects and love from the Philippines ❤️❤️🇵🇭🇵🇭

I’m so exited for the next part and i Love the content so good ❤

This was a really popular tree in California landscaping so I got to grow up with them. Kind of miss them.

I've lived in Georgia my whole life and have always hated this tree. But as a woodworker myself, I never knew how pretty the wood is! You may have changed my mind about this tree (still hate the gumballs though)

Absolutely gorgeous wood!

There are two east coast shrubs or short trees I love, sassafras and Appalachian spice bush. I'm not sure how available the wood from either is but they're fun trees. I have stepped on many a gumball in my life, it is a much better experience if you are used to running around barefoot and it's the end of summer when you do.

Yes I live in an apartment that has one growing right over my parking space. So these devil's balls are always on my car.

While I love sumac (it glows under blacklight!), like the color of buckthorn (the tree is evil), and the idea of mulberry, I just really want you to make Tennessee! I plan to move there soon and it's so pretty! *edit* forgot to mention wild plum! THAT stuff is solid! Even a tiny piece (3in diameter) is a struggle to cut by hand!

My favorite part of every video is wheen you flick the small piece at the camera 😊❤

I remember my neighbors raking gumballs into piles and scooping them up with snow shovels. There were SO many of them all over the ground around the trees.

I'm from NV, and this unlocked a new core memory

Ah the sweet gum! When I was little we had one of these trees in our front yard. We always called the seeds ‘monkey balls’ and my sisters and I used to throw them at each other. This was so nostalgic to see! Thank you!!

Boy, oh boy, that is a pretty wood. Very nice.

These trees grow all the way to NJ, and the photo at 1:12 of the guy throwing away piles of gum balls is why people hate this tree.

Love your videos!!! We are living up here in the Great White North Frozen Tundra of Wisconsin. You should do Wisco next and the native American Witch Hazel

I used to live somewhere with a bunch of those trees and I moved to a much less humid place and it’s heaven

A wood map of UK counties would be really cool

I used to have gum all fights (kinda like a snow ball fight). They’re fun to throw

I grew up in NCand can attest to the pain of a dried of gumball on a barefoot. Never knew the wood was so beautiful, though!

I live in Tennessee and when I saw the map that tells you where you can find these trees I was really confused. Until I saw the “gum ball” and all the memories of natures Lego pieces came flooding in.

Weird, I was reading about Ohio buckeyes the other day on Wikipedia, and it says "Although occasionally seen in cultivation, the large, copiously produced fruits make it generally undesirable as a street tree." But this tree has *spiky* seed pods that get everywhere, but is used as a street tree.

Such a pretty tree 🌲

Catalpa should total make the list! They are such beautiful trees

Beautiful piece!

Wow, that's a beautiful lookin chunk of wood!

not sure what wood, but I really want to see North Carolina up on the board btw Georgia turned out amazing!

I'm not sure if you did the bald cypress for Florida, but I can remember running and stepping on those as a kid.

"gumballs" are the bane of my existence when they start falling. Even without two of those trees in my yard, it still feels like my entire yard is bombarded by them every year.

I grew up collecting these over child and me and my siblings would have sweetgum spider (what we called the gumballs) fights in my grandfather's yard. Right now, we collect them to burn in our firepit because the smell of them burning keeps the mosquitoes away.

I debated whether to suggest lignum vitae (Guaiacum sanctum) for Florida since it's only indigenous to the southern part of the state, but since the Gumball tree is also found in the northern part of Florida (and people call north Florida South Georgia anyway), I figure it's a fair cop. Yeah, it's expensive as hell but it never hurts to ask for what you want, right? I'm new to your channel but your enthusiasm for all your projects is wonderful.

As a kid in NJ, I was always told that these spike balls were the inspiration behind velcro. Idk if that’s true, but it was a funny story to hear nonetheless

reposting from the redcedar video because i'd like it to at least be heard before a decision is made on ohio's tree: do you think you could take a look at blue ash for ohio? the growth patterns and grain aren't typically super flashy, but they're a very important tree in the area i grew up in and i have fond memories of sitting under (and trying to climb, on brazen days) the ones that used to grow in my parents' yard, tossing around the little samara seeds and watching them flutter. they're pretty severely endangered now as a result of the emerald ash borers plaguing the region, and we had to cut down all the ones in our yard years ago so they wouldn't fall on a house.

I used to step on this things barefoot when I got bored because I like the crunch

Im excited to see what is picked for my state.

This video triggered the memory of raking up an entire yard of gumballs as a kid; it was terrible. One tree filled the entire yard with those spiky little hell balls. But it’s still the best shade tree in the yard and the prettiest in the fall. That tree is just over 60 years old now

Justin, quick question. What wood wax/oil do u use for your small projects? I make a range of things from dice to cutting boards, and rarely a mini table or smntgh like that, but so far i've been using Howard's butcher block oil for my small projects, and i feel like theres a better alternative, just wondering.

So beautiful ❤

As a kid we would gather these gumballs up and chuck them at each other. Super fun cause they didnt really hurt too bad when you got hurt.

Living where I live stepping on gum balls is a fact. The trees are so beautiful it is worth it. Thanks again for what you do. Do Texas from worm wood 😊

Anyone else really love the tradition of him flicking a bit of wood off the... Whatever that uppy-down-cutty machine thing is called....?

All these maps you make are awesome. What's your process for putting them up on the wall? I'm assuming you use magnets. What do you do with them when complete? Are they just in your house in different rooms?

For Ohio's tree, if you haven't already done it elsewhere, you can do the Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) tree for Ohio! We have a whole festival for 'em in September.

I was thinking about it, and a think a non-White Oak tree that could work for Maryland could be the Red Mulberry. The reason for this is that there is mythos and Maryland lore around the old mulberry tree that once stood at the St. Mary's City Church Point.

I would love to see Texas!! 🎉great video

Awesome video as usual. I'd love to see Alaska made with some Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Let me know if you'd be interested in some.

As a fellow Utahan I nominate the Fremont Cottonwood and the Rocky Mountain Maple as our trees

My family has Christmas tree ornaments made from dried gumball husks. They're painted gold.

I really enjoy your videos! Thanks I’m in NE Kansas and just in a 4 house radius in my neighborhood I have redbud, sweet gum, sugar maple, silver maple, oak, elm, locust and a few I’m not sure of 😂 Would any of those work to make my home state on your map?

Put Utah up on the map next

A western red cedar would be really cool for Idaho.