American sycamore
Platanus occidentalis L.
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Form and Habitat
American sycamore form & habitat American sycamore form & habitat American sycamore form & habitat
Leaves
American sycamore leaves American sycamore leaves
Twigs
American sycamore: bud American sycamore: terminal bud American sycamore twig: pith American sycamore twig: pith American sycamore twig: lateral buds American sycamore twig: lateral bud encircled within petiole, stipule not shown
Bark
American sycamore bark American sycamore bark American sycamore bark American sycamore bark American sycamore bark
Flowers
American sycamore flowers American sycamore flowers American sycamore flowers
Fruit
American sycamore fruit American sycamore fruit American sycamore fruit American sycamore fruit American sycamore: fruit, single achene
  • FAMILY: PLATANACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: plane tree
  • LEAVES: deciduous, alternate, simple, with 3-7 shallow pointed lobes; blades about as wide as long or wider, 4-7” broad; dilated petiole base encloses the lateral bud; leaf-like stipules encirlce the twig, stipule may be deciduous or persistent even on leafless twigs
  • FLOWER: unisexual, plants monoecious; flowers minute in globose heads
  • FRUIT: a tiny achene subtended by long bristles; fruiting heads referred to as “sycamore balls”
  • TWIGS: slender, orange and maturing gray; sometimes with zigzagging pattern; leaf scars thinly surrounding lateral buds (terminal buds lacking), stipule scars encircling twigs at nodes
  • BARK: cream to green colored, mottled, with exfoliating brown flaky outer surface; because of the smooth light-colored bark, trees are often identifiable from a distance
  • FORM: large tree, 100-175’ tall and 3-11’ dbh; very fast growing
  • HABITAT: stream and river banks and in associated bottomlands
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally found in non-wetlands (67–99%) in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: eastern US and Mexico [USGS Range Map]
  • USES: wood used for pulp (grown in short-rotation stands), lumber, veneer, furniture, butcher blocks; popular ornamental
  • WILDLIFE: marginal for wildlife food; good cavity tree for nesting and denning
    • Best Recognition Features:
    1. mottled light-colored bark
    2. relatively large simple leaves
    3. persistent sycamore balls
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