TREES HAVING SIMPLE LEAVES 101 
52. Buttonball. No list of trees would be complete 
which did not include those three forest giants, button- 
ball, tulip, and sweet gum. The names buttonwood, 
buttonball, sycamore, and plane tree, as the same tree is 
called in different parts of the country, all apply to that 
fine American tree which sheds its bark as well as its 
leaves, leaving a ghostly monarch of tree life, which 
produces an enormous crop 
of buttonballs so well known 
to country boys and girls. 
The leaves are in proportion 
to the size of the tree, often 
measuring a foot in length, 
and being frequently covered 
on the under side with a 
white down called fungus. 
The wood of the sycamore, 
as it is incorrectly called, is 
valuable for cabinetwork, having a beautiful grain and 
taking a high polish. It is, however, difficult to work, 
and has a tendency to warp. 
53. Sweet Gum. The sweet-gum tree also produces a 
crop of balls, or seed pods, but although the same size 
as the buttonballs, they need never be confused, as the 
gum balls are covered with somewhat sharp points, while 
the buttonballs are comparatively smooth. 
Fic. 111. Leaf of Buttonwood 
