SYCAMORE 
Platanus occidentalis 
See Map: W, 27, 28 
Sycamores achieve the greatest trunk 
diameters of North American hard- 
wood trees—up to about 16 feet. The 
largest sycamore in Missouri is a mere 
eight feet in diameter, which was the 
size of the Tucker Sycamore in Floris- 
sant, Missouri. In the early 1800s 
Nathaniel Tucker cut this historic 
hollow tree off to 10 feet above the 
ground, cleaned it out, cut a door in it, 
put his books around the inside, and 
lived there as a practicing attorney. 
Mr. Tucker was a judge in the St. Louis 
Circuit Court and an organizer of the 
First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis. 
Sycamores have diverse uses: American Indians enjoyed the sap in 
syrups and other sweets. The wood, known as lacewood, resists splitting 
and thus makes good chopping blocks. Sycamores are favorite street 
trees, with their stately aspect, patterned bark, and tolerance of urban life. 
Their disadvantages for home planting are that massive limbs sometimes 
drop off; a fungal disease can blacken the foliage on wet days; and bark, 
jumbo leaves, twigs, and fuzzy fruits litter the lawn. 
Examine those fuzzy fruits closely. Each sycamore ball is a cluster 
made up of hundreds of the fruits, each with a parachute of fine bristles to 
Be 
