American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

The American Sycamore is a wide-canopied, deciduous tree, usually 75-100 ft. tall, with a massive trunk and open crown of huge, crooked branches. The bark of large, old trunks sloughs off in scales or plates leaving a smooth, whitish inner bark. Leaves broadly ovate or broader, blade often wider than long, long pointed. Globular fruits often persist through December. Large, medium- to dark-green, maple-shaped leaves turn brown in fall. A shade tree, Sycamore grows to a larger trunk diameter than any other native hardwood. Grows in low, moist woods; floodplains; rich bottomlands.