88 



Trees of Kentucky 



PLAN'S TREE FA/WILY. 



This ancient family is represented in Kentucky by one native 

 genus Platanus with one species : 



Sycamore Platanus occidentalis. 



The American Sycamore, or 

 Buttonball Tree, is the largest 

 tree of Eastern North Amer- 

 ica. In 1802, the botanist 

 Michaux registered a Syca- 

 more growing on the right 

 bank of the Ohio River 47 feet 

 in circumference, four feet 

 from the ground. It is univer- 

 sally but sparingly distributed 

 through the State, found prin- 

 cipal!}" in single file along the 

 water ways. 



The wood, hard, coarse- 

 grained and brittle, is employed 

 for cheap furniture, butchers' 



blocks and tobacco boxes. The Sycamore suffers from a para- 

 sitic fungus which \\ ithers the young leaves in early spring ; a 

 second crop of leaves is afterwards successfully developed. 



The generic name is derived from the Latin word platus, 

 broad, referring to the shape of the leaves. 



The tree is so conspicuously marked by its mottled trunk, 

 snow white branches and brown pendent seed balls that identifi- 

 cation is easy from long distances. Closer observation reveals 

 two other interesting features : 



1. The growing buds are concealed in the hollow base or 



pocket of the long leaf stems until autumn defoliation. 



2. The young twigs are decorated with ruffled, leafy 



sheathes that encircle the stem above the leaf bud and 

 persist far into the winter. 



