Sycamore

American Sycamore

Platanus occidentalis

Plantanaceae

▲ mature trees

▲ ▼ leaves

▲ ▼ leaves

▲ fruit

▲ ▼ trunk and bark, showing peeling bark in upper canopy, and brown platey bark on lower trunk

▲ trees survived 2007 ice storm in Springfield, MO with moderate damage

Location on Missouri State University campus: east of Art Annex; just north of Karls Hall

Platanus occidentalis: American Sycamore

• leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, large, palmately 3-5 lobed with toothed margins; 4-9" wide and almost equally long; pubescent when young, medium to dark green in color
• stems stout, smooth or pubescent in yellow or orange brown, in zig-zag pattern
• bark is exfoliating on upper large branches to white, cream, tan and orange, brown layers; basal trunk bark is gray-brown and platey
• grows 75-100' tall in rounded or upright oval pattern
• fruit is a ball-shaped cluster of achenes which disintegrates into brown fluff in winter; ball is born singly on long stalk
• prefers full sun and moist, deep, fertile soils, but fairly soil adaptable; begins shedding leaves midsummer if dry
• prone to anthracnose fungal disease which can cause stem dieback and witches-broom formations
• fast growth rate
• native to Missouri-- common along streams and rivers
• similar to London Planetree (Platanus x acerifolia), but London planetree bark peels along trunk all the way to the ground, and fruit is in clusters of 2-3 ball-like structures, instead of 1 as on sycamore