Sycamore
Platanus occidentalis L.
Also known as Buttonwood or American Planetree.
Mature Size: 80 to 100 feet and 3 to 4 feet in diameter; may reach 150 feet in height and 10 feet in diameter.
Form: Straight, often massive trunk, with spreading, crooked branches forming an open crown.
Habitat: Stream banks and rich bottomlands.
Leaves
Alternate, simple, 5 to 8 inches long and wide, large-toothed edges, 3 to 5 major lobes divided by broad, shallow sinuses; several main leaf veins branching from a single point at the leaf base; leaf stem base enlarged, encircling the bud; toothed leaf-like growths encircling stem at base of each leaf.
Flowers
Very small; both males and females in dense round clusters, typically a single cluster to a stalk, appearing with the leaves.
Fruit
A ball tightly packed with winged ½ inch seeds surrounded by fine hairs; maturing in late fall, dispersing on the wind in late winter.
Bark
Distinctive "camouflage" mottling of brown, green, tan and white, peeling readily; older stems gray-brown and scaly.
Twigs
Obviously zigzag, quite thick, orange-brown; leaf scar surrounding the bud, stipular scar surrounding the twig; buds reddish, resinous, with a single, cap-like scale.
Values and Uses
The wood is hard and moderately strong but decays rapidly in the ground. It is used for chopping blocks, furniture, interior finish, particleboard, fiberboard, paper pulp and biomass for energy production. Songbirds eat the seeds. Large, old, hollow trees serve as roosting and den sites for wildlife. Sycamore's distinctive bark makes it an attractive tree for large landscapes.
Did You Know?
Sycamore has the largest trunk diameter of any North American hardwood.
