Plantanus occidentalis, American sycamore
One tree that I was very excited to include in my tree page is Americcan sycamore, Plantanus occidentalis. There are several nice specimens at the park by my house but, as these trees can get very large, most are tall with no low branches. In fact, according to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network (ACSA2), the largest currently known sycamore trunk is 11 feet in diameter while an earlier giant’s was nearly 15 feet! I was excited to find a smaller sycamore near a creek with leaves I could reach (pictured above).
These trees possess alternate, simple, leaves with three to five lobes. The leaves have large teeth and can be rather big (see picture above compared to my sister’s head 🙂 )
Other defining features of this tree are the leafy stipules that encircle twigs at the point of leaf attachment (pictured above) and the characteristic brown bark that flakes off towards the top of the tree leaving a smooth white underbark! (pictured below)
Generally conceded to be one of the most massive trees of the eastern U.S., sycamores contain hard-course grained wood used for a myriad of things. Sycamores were used by Native Americans to make dugouts (simple canoes), one of which is reported to have been 65′ long and 9000 pounds! (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 204 pp.)