THE SYCAMORES 



By Joseph S. Illick 



A LL sycamore trees belong to the plane tree family. 

 ^*- Only six different kinds are known in the world. 

 Three of them occur in southern Europe and Asia. The 

 other three are native to the United States. All of them 

 attain tree size and belong to the group of trees known 

 by the scientific name Platanus, which means "broad", 

 and refer to the width &f the leaves. The leaf-blades of 

 sycamore trees are not so broad as those of some tropi- 

 cal trees but they are among the broadest found in tem- 

 perate regions. 



The three sycamores that inhabit the United States 

 and the adjoining part of Mexico are the common syca- 

 mores, native to the eastern half of the United States ; 

 the California sycamore, found only on the Pacific Coast; 

 and the Southwestern sycamore, native to New Mexico 

 and Arizona, and extending westward towards Cali- 

 fornia. 



In addition to the native sycamores, another member 

 of the family, native to southern Europe and western 

 Asia, has been introduced extensively into the eastern 

 part of the United States. This tree is really a syca- 

 more, but it is often called oriental plane tree, or just 

 plane tree. It has many good points and is being planted 

 extensively as a street tree, and locally it is looked upon 

 with favor for general ornamental planting. In the city 



of Washington and in Philadelphia, many specimens have 

 been planted and are now growing well. A few years ago 

 a census was taken of all the street trees in Paris, and 

 out of a total of 86,000 specimens, 26,000 were oriental 

 sycamore. This favorite tree has many desirable charac- 

 teristics. It grows rapidly, is hardy, and possesses a 

 beautiful crown, gives ample shade, has an attractive 

 bark, and only a few insects and fungi trouble it. It 

 stands in the front rank among our shade and street trees, 

 and in spite of its foreign origin has won a worthy place 

 among ornamental trees. 



The California sycamore is also known as buttonwood 

 and buttonball. Its scientific name is Platanus racemosa. 

 It is a small to medium-sized tree ranging in height from 

 40 to 60 feet, and occasional specimens exceed 24 inches 

 in diameter. The trunk is usually short, and often 

 branches near the ground. The branches, like that of all 

 other sycamores, are conspicuously irregular and massive. 

 Its occurrence is usually confined to bottomlands where 

 one finds it near the border of streams. Among its 

 associates are the white alder, black-leafed maple, Cali- 

 fornia walnut, and occasioually willows are found stand- 

 ing by its side. 



The Southwestern sycamore usually goes by the un- 

 modified name sycamore, but occasionally it is called 



LEAVES OF THE ORIENTAL SYCAMORE (LEFT) AND OUR NATIVE EASTERN SYCAMORE (RIGHT) 



The scientific name Platanus means broad and has reference to the width of the leaves of the Sycamore, which are among the 



broadest found in our native trees. 



