American Sycamore
Platanus occidentalis · Platanaceae · Deciduous · also called buttonwood, plane tree
The sycamore is the white-limbed giant of river bottoms, recognisable from a great distance in winter because its upper branches are almost luminously pale. It is among the largest deciduous trees in eastern North America, and old specimens are often hollow.
Quick facts
- Arrangement
- alternate
- Leaf
- Very large, broad, three to five shallow lobes, resembling a maple leaf but alternate rather than opposite.
- Bark
- Flaking away in irregular jigsaw patches of grey, green and tan to leave a startling chalk-white upper trunk and limbs.
- Fruit
- A single spherical bristly ball on a long stalk, hanging through winter.
- Height
- 70–120 ft
How to confirm it
- Mottled bark flaking in jigsaw patches to reveal white underneath.
- Large maple-like leaves but arranged alternately, not opposite.
- Single round bristly seed balls hanging on long stalks.
- Base of the leaf stalk is hollow and caps the bud like a hood.
What it is confused with
One observation settles each of these.
London plane is a hybrid planted along streets and usually carries two or more seed balls per stalk. Sycamore carries one.
Maple leaves are opposite. Sycamore leaves are alternate, despite the similar shape.
Where it grows
Eastern and central North America, along rivers and floodplains, and widely planted in cities.
Start here: opposite or alternate?
Look at where the leaves join the twig. Are they in matched pairs directly across from each other, or staggered one after another? The vast majority of trees are alternate, so finding an opposite tree removes almost everything else in one step.
In North America, opposite-leaved trees are remembered as MAD Cap Horse: Maple, Ash, Dogwood, Caprifoliaceae (viburnums and elders), and Horse chestnut. That is very nearly the whole list.
Check partway along a healthy twig rather than at the tip, where crowding can make alternate leaves look paired. And check more than one twig.