58 TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



ed fruits. This is one of our finest trees and is com- 

 mon in the low grounds of the whole state ex- 

 cept in the mountain section., where it is found only 

 along the larger streams at low elevations. In the 

 Piedmont it is also found in upland woods. It 

 reaches a very large size, sometimes a height of 140 

 feet and a diameter of 4 feet. Dates of flowering: 

 April 1, 1903 ; April 5, 1908 ; April 6, 1909 ; April 

 3, 1913 ; April 23, 1915 ; April 14, 1916. Examples: 

 trees in the swamp of New Hope Creek 'below the 

 bridge on the Durham-Chapel Hill road, where they 

 reach 12^ feet in circumference 5 feet from the 

 ground. 



PLANE TREE FAMILY 

 (PLATINACEAE) 



84. Platanus occidentalis L. Sycamore. 



A large tree with white branches and round, pen- 

 dant fruits that hold their seeds until spring. Bark 

 scaling off in thin plates; leaves large and broad, 

 4-8 inches across, with many irregular lobes and 

 teeth, very wooly-pubescent when young, the enlarged 

 base of the leaf stalk enclosing the bud. Common 

 along the streams of the whole state, often spontane- 

 ous in uplands and much cultivated. It is one of 

 our largest trees and in this state often reaches a 

 height of 110 feet and a diameter of 5 or 6 feet. It 

 reaches a much larger size in the middle west, some- 

 times with a diameter of 15 feet. Many of our trees 

 are being killed by the Sycamore Mildew (Micros- 



