4. Altingiaceae

 

One tree that goes all the way back to my childhood in New York is sweetgum - Liquidambar styraciflua. I seem to remember my mother hosting a nature walk and showing a group of us children the spiky pods. I've always known them by the common name, "sweetgum". They are among the most common street trees and - as far as I know - the best known representative of the family Altingiaceae. 

Interestingly, the branches of the sweetgum are sometimes "winged" like euonymous (as the one seen above, photographed in Louisiana).