Sycamore

Platanus occidentalis

Size: 3, 7, 15 & 30g Gallon Availability

Tree
Max size: 150’ tall x 100’ wide
Average size: 100′ tall x 80′ wide

Usually Moist, Moist to Dry
Clay, Loam, Sand
Sun, Part Shade
Tolerant of Low Levels of Salt Spray

AKA: American Plane Tree, Buttonball Tree, Buttonwood

This deciduous tree has a pretty orange color in the fall and inconspicuous spring blooms. It gets showy but inedible brown fruits that break apart easily underfoot or when mowed over. It is one of the few trees that is both fast-growing (2-6ft a year) and resistant to hurricane winds. Its large leaves and interesting bark make it an excellent shade tree for a yard, as long as it has the room to spread.

It has good wildlife value as well. The fall seeds provide food for various songbirds such as the purple finch, goldfinch, and chickadees, as well as mammals such as muskrats, beavers, and squirrels. They provide valuable shelter to small mammals like the Sherman fox squirrel and a nesting location for birds; with age, the trunks become hollow enough for cavity nesting birds and occasionally black bears to live in. (1) It’s also a host plant to the caterpillars of the Sycamore Tussock Moth (Halisidota harrisii).

Historically, the roots and bark were used for a variety of treatments for things like rheumatism, tuberculosis, and skin irritations like eczema and scabs.(2) Its wood is useful for cabinets, containers, flooring, veneers, pallets, boxes, plywood, and pulp wood.