Accession Count: 17
Common Name:
American sycamore
Family Name:
Platanaceae
Botanical Name:
Platanus occidentalis
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
American Sycamores are reasonably large trees that generally range from about 90 to 130 feet in height and about 5 to 7 feet in diameter. Its blotchy, exfoliating bark is an obscure brown and separates unreservedly into thin plates, which peel off and leave the exterior of the tree a pale yellow/white color. It is the most remarkable portion of the plant and is often referred to as “camouflage” bark because its ability to readily exfoliate. (1) The inner bark is usually very smooth and a light, pearly color (2). The leaves are generally about 4 to 9 inches in length and are wedge-shaped near the base. When they are fully-grown, they are a vivid yellow green on top, and pale on bottom. The fruit is usually an inch in diameter and hangs from slender, weak stems. The heads of these fruits are composed of achene and are spherical. (2) The fruits create a winged seed (about ½ inch long) that generally matures in November till late winter (4).
Compound:
Pla occ
Geographic Origin:
Eastern North America
Ecozone Origin:
Nearctic
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
This tree, although not the tallest, is often considered the most massive tree in all of the Eastern United States. A long-lived Sycamore tree can last six hundred years. Its enemies include the sycamore leaf beetle and plane anthracnose disease, a fungus common to its habitat. The tree has developed resistance to the disease, but it can still cause partial defoliation. Also, the terms under which the New York Stock Exchange was formed are called the “Buttonwood Agreement”, because the document was signed beneath a sycamore (buttonwood) tree at Wall Street in New York in 1792.
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Natural History of the UA Campus Arboretum Specimens:
Accession # : 8709 was designated a University Heritage Tree in 2002. Called the "Moon Tree", this sycamore was grown from seed that went to the moon with the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. The tree's value and unique history is explained on a plaque installed by the Arizona State Forester in 1976. See more about the Moon Trees at http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html
Cultivation Notes:
The American sycamore is a fast growing tree, and long-lived when provided the right surroundings.This tree favors deep, saturated, lush soils that are well drained, as it is regularly located alongside the brinks of bodies of water. Although it prefers this wetland, it can endure much drier and inferior soils, and desires to be in areas with lots of exposure to sunlight. Its hollow truck makes it vulnerable during storms.
Ethnobotany:
Wood from this tree is used for furniture and interior surface for houses, shops, and more. The sycamore is able to withstand a large urban environment and has been broadly implanted as a shade tree. It makes for a perfect shade tree due to its exfoliating bark and wide, condensed crown. Recently, sycamores have become a preferred species for practice in “biomass farms” in the Southeast (4).
Height:
50 - 100 feet
Width:
6 - 10 feet
Growth Rate:
Fast Growing
Grow Season:
Spring
Flower Season:
Summer
Color:
Green
Function:
Shade
Spread:
Non-spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Hardy
Water Use:
High Water Use
Citations:
- http://www.cirrusimage.com/Trees_American_sycamore.htm]
- Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scriber's Sons. pp. 263–268]
- http://www.indieherbalist.com/2012/07/american-sycamore-platanus-occidentalis.html]
- http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/trees/sycamore_amer/tabid/5424/default.aspx]
