Taxon

Platanus occidentalis

 
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Platanus occidentalis - sycamore, American planetree, American sycamore, buttonball
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Common name: sycamore, American planetree, American sycamore, buttonball
Family: Platanaceae (Plane-tree)
Distribution: Central to E. US; E. Canada
Habitat: Lowland areas, especially along rivers and flood plains; 0-300 meters
Hardiness: -30 - 30 F
Life form: Deciduous tree
Foliage characteristics: Alternate, simple, ovate leaves with 3-5 lobed margins. 6-10" long.
Bark characteristics: Exfoliating, red to gray-brown with white inner bark.
Average height: 75-100'
Structure: Youth: pyramidal Mature: broad, rounded
Fall color: Yellow-brown
Fruit characteristics: Round, brown, fuzzy fruit. Solitary. 1" diameter. Ripens in October and persists into early winter.
Bloom Time: March
Bloom characteristics: Monoecious; female flowers are red, and male flowers are yellow
Key ID characteristics: Leaf scars surround buds; exfoliating bark; solitary fruits; no terminal buds; buds are conical, blunt pointed, and dark reddish brown.
Medicinal/pharmaceutical: Some Native Americans used parts of this tree for cold and cough remedies, and for dietary, dermatological, gynecological, respiratory, and gastrointestinal reasons.
Description: The sycamore is the most massive tree native to the east coast. It can grow up to 150 feet tall, and up to 16 feet in diameter. This large tree has mottled white bark which turns brown with age, and almost maple-like leaves. In fact, the leaves are how sycamores got their common name. When European settlers came to North America, they decided that its foliage looked like a British sycamore, and named it the same.
This tree has possibly been Extirpated in Maine.
Links: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder • University of Connecticut Plant Database • US Forest Service Fact Sheet • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

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