Sycamore

Sycamore, common name given to a several unrelated trees. The name sycamore was originally applied to the sycamore fig, a species of fig native to Egypt and Syria. This tree is the true sycamore, mentioned several times in the Old Testament, and is a favorite shade tree in the Middle East. In England, sycamore is the common name for the sycamore maple. Various species of plane trees are also known as sycamores. The London plane tree, considered to be a hybrid between the American sycamore and the Oriental sycamore, is often planted as a street tree because it resists smoke, gases, dust, and heat. Its inner bark is greenish yellow, not white. Its leaves are maplelike, with fewer lobes than those of the American sycamore, and the fruits are borne in groups of two.

The American sycamore of the eastern United States attains a greater diameter than any other American broadleaf tree: Its trunk measures up to 3.3 m (11 ft) in diameter above its enlarged base. It sometimes reaches a height of 52 m (170 ft). The reddish brown bark exfoliates in large, thin scales, exposing irregular patches of a whitish inner bark. The tree has broad, slightly lobed leaves and globular fruit heads, which are usually borne singly and are suspended on slender stalks. The moderately strong, hard, light-brown wood is used principally for furniture and food containers.

The California sycamore, which has three- to five-lobed leaves and reaches to 30 m (100 ft) in height, grows abundantly in valleys from the upper Sacramento to southern California. The similar Arizona sycamore, which has deeply lobed leaves, is found in Arizona, New Mexico, and Sonora.

Scientific classification: The sycamore fig is a member of the family Moraceae and is classified as Ficus sycomorus. The sycamore maple is a member of the family Aceraceae and is classified as Acer pseudoplatanus. Plane trees are members of the family Platanaceae. The London plane tree is classified as Platanus hybrida, the Oriental sycamore as Platanus orientalis, the American sycamore as Platanus occidentalis, the California sycamore as Platanus racemosa, and the Arizona sycamore as Platanus wrightii.