![IMG_0045[1]](https://u.osu.edu/eeob2210/files/2014/10/IMG_00451-1zch584.jpg)
Here is a sycamore tree (Platanus occidentalis) found growing by Chadwick learning gardens. The sycamore has a distinct bark color with smooth white bark high on the tree with flaky brown bark at the base. The leaf arrangement is alternate making it a dead give away that the tree is in fact a Sycamore.
Textbook example of buttonwood. Easy to ID with its distinctive “camo” bark. Seed dispersal for this water loving species is unique because the achenes can float! Who woulda thunk? Great low spot in the parking lot for this specimen.
Sycamores also have leaves that look like giant maple leaves. It would be almost impossible to get them confused because the sycamore has alternate leaves and maples have opposite, aside from other obvious differences like bark. They are typically found in riparian areas but are adaptable to the environment they’re planted in, which is why you often see them planted as street trees.