146 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



SYCAMORE OR BUTTONWOOD TREE FLOWER 

 By Dr. R. W. Shufeldt 



OUR buttonwood or buttonball tree is also widely 

 known as the sycamore, and in the eastern parts 

 of the United States it is a familiar shade-tree in 

 nearly all cities and towns. Toumefort, the distinguished 

 French botanist, gave it its generic name, calling it Plant- 

 amis fiom aGreek wordmeaning broad, he being impressed 



THE FLOWER OF THE SYCAMORE TREE 

 Rare condition of the flower-heads of the sycamore tree, Plantamis cccidentalis. 



with either the breadth of its shade, or with its broad 

 leaf. Its specific name is occidentalis, which was bestowed 

 upon it by Linnaeus. There is still another vernacular 

 name for it — the plane tree. It ranges from Maine to 

 northern Vermont, thence westward to Minnesota and 

 Ontario, and southward to Kansas. Magnificent examples 

 of it occur in the valley of the Mississijjpi and elsewhere 

 in the mid-United States; in fact, it is the largest and tall- 

 est tree in the forests of the Atlanlic tier of states. Syca- 

 mores on some of the western rivers attain the height of 

 nearly 140 feet, while those a hundred feet high were not 

 at all uncommon. As these immense trees age, their trunks 

 become hollow, fonning fine homes for squirrels and bees. 

 The familiar flower-heads of this tree are subspherical 

 balls of about an incli in diameter. These are green in 

 fall and summer, but turn a darkish-tan in winter, at 

 which season they form very striking objects in the leaf- 

 less trees, each ball being suspended by a long peduncle 

 from the twig supporting it. In big trees as many as five 

 or six hundred of these balls may swing there nearly all 

 winter. As a rule, these flexible pedimclcs bear but a 



single button or ball at the free end ; but in extremely rare 

 instances there may be two, as shown in my reproduced 

 photograph illustrating this article. When I was a small 

 boy I discovered one of these abnormalities, and I never 

 forgot it. Many a time since I have peered up into syca- 

 more or plane trees in the hope of discovering a second 

 example; but all to no pui-pose. Among the uimumbered 

 thousands I have seen of them since that day, I have never 

 discovered another like the one I collected over half a 

 century ago in southern Cormecticut. 



During the latter part of November, 1916, my wife, 

 while walking alone near the National Zoological Park 

 in Washington, observed one of these two-ball abnormal- 

 ities on a medium-sized sycamore ; next day I secured the 

 specimen and photographed it natural size. It will be 

 seen that the peduncle of the upper ball is not more than 

 half the usual length, while that of the lower one is some- 

 what longer, though not as long as in the case of the nor- 

 mal ones on the same tree. Its proximal end appears as 

 though it were sunk into the side of the upper ball; but 

 whether the peduncles are continuous or not I am not pre- 

 pared to say, as I have not broken up the upper ball in 

 that I might ascertain the fact. In all probability they 

 are continuous; but it would destroy the specimen to 

 thus investigate the structure. 



In some instances the tendrils of a grape-vine had 

 twisted about the stems of some of the leaves of the tree, 

 holding them fast so they could not fall to the ground when 

 all the others did. A case of this kind is also shown in 

 the illustration. The dilated base of the petiole is seen 

 just above where the tendril of the vine has seized the 

 stem, and on the twig of the tree above it is also seen next 

 season's bud, which was covered by the aforesaid dilated 

 petiole, where the leaf grew in position on the twig. This 

 peculiarity is rare among trees. 



MICHIGAN TO PLANT 4500 ACRES ANNUALLY 



BY asking the Legislature to increase its annual apjjro- 

 priation to $150,000, the Public Domain Commis- 

 sion is preparing to carry into effect one of the 

 largest forest conscr\^ation or tree planting plans which 

 has ever been tried in this country. The plan has the 

 backing of the members of the Commission and is also 

 approved by the forcstrs' experts at the University of 

 Michigan and the Micliigan Forestry Association. The 

 state now owns, in round numbers, 540,000 acres of land. 

 It is ]jroposcd to plant trees at the rate of 4500 acres per 

 annum and, in what is known as a period of rotation .con- 

 sisting of 60 years, all of 270,000 acres can be planted. 

 One-half of the other 270,000 acres will in the next 30 

 years, under protection, produce sufficient material, which 

 liy cutting will clear a gross revenue of $15 per acre. 

 Beginning with 1947 it is thought advisable, according 

 to the plan, to cut at the rate of 4500 acres per annmn 

 and plant at the same rate with the more valuable pines. 

 By 1977 the remaining 135,000 acres will be treated in a 

 like manner, so that the initial restocking of all forest 

 lands will liave been completed in 2007. 



