Platanus occidentalis

 Sizes available: TBD

Basics: zones 4-9, 75-100' x crown up to 100' wide, mature specimens have trunks 6-10 feet in diameter, full sun, a very unprepossessing flower ripens to a showy fruitball, prefers moist to wet soil but does not like permanent flooding, not picky as to soil type or pH, but prefers a deep soil.

Common names: Sycamore, American Sycamore, Buttonball Tree, American Planetree, Occidental Plane, Buttonwood, Water Beech

Family: Plantanaceae

Origin/Distribution: Present in the eastern and central United States as well as southern Ontario and Quebec and the mountains of northeastern Mexico. Sycamore was present in Greenland and the Arctic Forests of the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. It used to grow in Europe and was re-introduced there in the 17th Century. It has also been introduced in Australia, Argentina, and Ecuador. Native to southern Maine and also establishing in western Maine.

Habitat: Found near water bodies (but not in them) and places with abundant ground water. Grows with red Maple, Black Willow, and other moisture-loving species. 

More: A fast-growing and majestic tree. Can also be coppiced and sprouts readily from the trunk when young. Medicinal, Building material, buttons, syrup. So much more information coming soon.

Source: Cold Stream Farm

Image credits: drawing of leaf and seed pod from Wikimedia Commons; the image of bark by Cathy Dewitt and the image of leaves and green seedpods by Allen Bridgman are both from Creative Commons via the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.