Beneath a Sweetgum in Winter

I'm not sure whether I fell in love with the Sweetgum for its amazing fall color or simply because it's so easy to identify with its distinctive pretty star-shaped leaves and spiky fruit. But it's a favorite and native to boot. Above, the dried fruit, which should be empty of seeds now in the snow, and below the remains of its star-shaped leaf as seen on a winter's walk in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.