Platanus occidentalis
American sycamore
American sycamore can attain the largest trunk diameter of any of the Eastern U.S. hardwoods. The native sycamore has a grand branch display and its bark is unique among all trees - you can always identify a sycamore just by looking at the bark. The outer bark peels off in thin flakes leaving a cream colored inner bark. The alternate maple-looking leaves are large and also unique to those familiar with sycamore.
Start with the Tree Finder if you are not sure what kind of tree you have!
Sycamore - Not Just a Planetree
Feature from your About Forestry Guide
Sycamore Habitat and
Culture
(silvics courtesy of USFS)
Fire
Effects On Sycamore
(courtesy of U.S. Forest Service, Fire Effects)
From
Virginia Tech w/Photos
(Big List courtesy of VT Dendrology)
North American Timber Types
(courtesy About Forestry)
The Great American Hardwood Forest
(courtesy About Forestry)
Wood Tech Sheet
(fact sheet courtesy of USFS in pdf)
Recent Sycamore Champion: 85' height, 68' spread, 440" circumf.,
Montgomery County, Kentucky
National Register
of Big Trees
Sycamore
Images
(courtesy of ForestryImages.org)
Historic
Sycamore Images
(courtesy of University of Chicago and the Library of Congress)
Buy a Sycamore
Online
(Nurseries selling seedlings online)
Range Map
-The native range of sycamore, USFS.
Quick Stats
Common Names: American planetree, buttonwood, American sycamore,
buttonball, and buttonball-tree
Habitat: America's largest broadleaf tree. It is a fast-growing and
long-lived tree of lowlands and old fields
Description: Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is a common tree and one of the
largest in the eastern deciduous forest
Uses: Sycamore is valuable for timber and is also widely planted as a shade
tree
Image
(images courtesy of Kim Nix and Forestry About.com)
