gum tree n. Any tree that exudes a gum, such as: (a) The black gum (Nyssa multiflora), one of the largest trees of the Southern States, bearing a small blue fruit, the favorite food of the opossum.  Most of the large trees become hollow. (b) A tree of the genus Eucalyptus; a eucalypt.  See Eucalpytus. (c) The sweet gum tree of the United States (Liquidambar styraciflua), a large and beautiful tree with pointedly lobed leaves and woody burlike fruit. It exudes an aromatic terebinthine juice. (d) The sour gum tree.

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 gum tree
      n : any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar
          or Nyssa that are sources of gum [syn: gum]