Few trees announce autumn more gracefully than the sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), which is what you’re seeing here.
Its signature star-shaped leaves fan out in layers of yellow, coral, and deep crimson — a slow-motion gradient that lasts for weeks. Those spiky green balls tucked among the branches are its seed pods, often called gum balls, which linger through winter and add quirky texture once the leaves drop.
Sweetgum thrives in the Pacific Northwest of Canada thanks to the region’s long, cool springs and damp, ocean-tempered autumns. Unlike places with fast “flash fall” color, the Northwest’s gentle chill coaxes sweetgum leaves to turn gradually, so you get overlapping shades on the same tree — from summer green to buttery gold to wine red.
To enjoy it like a local: walk beneath its canopy right after a light rain, when the colors glow against the grey sky and the leaves release that earthy, resin-sweet scent. It’s autumn theatre, unfolding at tree-height.