The Trees of Vermont 141 



PLATANACEAE 



Sycamore. Buttonwood 

 Platanus occidentalis L. 



Habit. — A large tree 50-80 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 

 3-5 feet ; commonly dividing near the ground into several large second- 

 ary trunks, forming a broad, open, irregular crown of massive, spread- 

 ing branches. 



Leaves. — Alternate, simple, 5-10 inches long and broad; broadly 

 ovate in outline ; more or less 3-5-lobed by broad, shallow sinuses, the 

 lobes sinuate-toothed; thin and firm; bright green above, paler beneath, 

 glabrous both sides; petioles stout, puberulous, 1-2 inches long. 



Flowers.— May, with the leaves ; monoecious ; borne in dense 

 heads ; the staminate dark red, on short, axillary peduncles ; the pis- 

 tillate greenish, on long, slender, terminal peduncles ; sepals 3-6, 

 minute ; petals 3-6, minute ; stamens 3-6, usually 4 ; styles long, in- 

 curved, red. 



Fruit. — October, persistent on the limbs through the winter; 

 brown heads about 1 inch in diameter, on slender, glabrous stems 3-6 

 inches long. 



Winter-buds. — Terminal bud absent; lateral buds y4-}i inch 

 long, conical, blunt, lustrous, pale brown ; forming in summer within 

 the petiole of the leaf. 



Bark. — Twigs pale green and tomentose, becoming smooth, dark 

 green, finally grayish ; thick, red-brown on the trunk and broken into 

 oblong, plate-like scales, separating higher up into thin plates which 

 peel off, exposing the greenish or yellowish inner bark. Plate VI. 



Wood. — Heavy, tough, hard, rather weak, coarse-grained, difficult 

 to split, light red-brown, with thick, darker colored sapwood. 



Distribution. — Occasional to frequent in the Champlain valley 

 and along the tributary rivers, becoming abundant in the Hoosic valley 

 in southwestern Vermont ; Connecticut valley as far north as Hart- 

 ford. 



Habitat. — Rich bottom-lands along the borders of rivers and 

 lakes. 



Notes. — The bark unmistakably characterizes this species. On 

 old trees this is brown and rough on the lower parts of the trunks, but 

 above and on the branches it is smoother, with great, irregular, whitish 

 or pale yellowish patches where the outer layers have scaled off, leaving 

 the inner bark exposed. This gives the tree a whitewashed appearance 

 when seen from a short distance. 



