DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS OF NORTH AMERICAN 
SYCAMORE WOODS 
WARREN D. BRUSH 
(WITH PLATES XXXII-XXXVIII AND THREE FIGURES) 
Native sycamores* 
Four out of the five known species of sycamores (Platanus) are 
natives of North America. One of these is found in the eastern — 
United States, one in the southwest, one in the Pacific Coast region, 
and one in Mexico. The only species in the Old World inhabits 
central and southern Europe and southwestern Asia. The North 
American species are the common sycamore (P. occidentalis L.), 
California sycamore (P. racemosa Nutt.), Arizona sycamore 
(P. Wrightii S. Wats.), and the Mexican sycamore or alamo (P. 
Lindeniana Mart. and Gal.). The oriental plane tree (P. 
orientalis L.) is perhaps the most widely known as well as one of 
the largest trees in the temperate climate and is frequently 
planted for shade in streets and parks. 
Gross structure 
The only sycamores considered in this paper are the three 
species native to the United States: the eastern or common, the 
California, and the Arizona sycamores. The woods of these native 
sycamores so Closely resemble each other in general appearance that 
« The name sycamore rightly belongs to a fig tree (Ficus sycomorus L.), a native 
of Asia Minor. Sycamore is a combination of two Greek words, sykon, a fig, and 
a mulberry. The leaves of this oriental fig tree resemble those of a mulberry 
In Acntialls this name is applied also to Panax elegans F. and M. and Sterculia lurida 
and M. In France the name faux sycomore is given to the China-tree (Melia 
Azedarach L.). The name is ee applied in this country to sycamore maple 
(Acer pseudo-platanus L.), because of a general resemblance of the leaves. Plane tree 
is the generally accepted name ee the oriental Platanus orientalis, and it has been 
applied to the North American P. occidentalis from early times. The names applied 
locally, however, are buttonball, buttonwood, cottonwood, and water beech. Button- 
ball is a suitable name because it has not been applied to any other tree, and it is 
descriptive of the fruit. Sycamore is the accepted trade name and the one most 
widely used 
Botanical Gazette, vol. 64] [480 
