The sycamore tree was often planted in cities because it is extremely tolerant of drought conditions; resistant to salt and has the ability to survive in areas that have been macadamized. Since the tree wants to grow tall, it is often pruned heavily in our cities. This pruning, which is known as pollarding, causes deformities to the tree.
The sycamore’s scientific name is Platanus accidentalis, with the name sycamore coming from two Greek words: Sykon meaning a fig and moran meaning black mulberry. The name comes from two trees in the Bible, a fig tree (Ficus sycamores) and sycamine (a Greek word for mulberry).
Our sycamore tree is also known as: buttonwood because the wood supposedly was used to make buttons; buttonball because of its round ball fruit; planetree because English plane tree is a sycamore; water beech because the sycamore loves to grow near streams and also Virginia maple because the English sycamore is a maple.
As a sycamore matures, its trunk’s bark, with colors of brown, gray and green, peels in patches. The colorful patches contrast with the white inner bark, forming a colorful mosaic pattern. When a sycamore reaches the age of approximately 200 years, its sapwood no longer transfers minerals and water from its roots. Resins and tree wastes collect and harden in the heartwood (core) of the tree. Although this heartwood frequently rots, the hollow sycamore can still lead a longer life.
The sycamore loves the water’s edge and is found growing along most of our streams and rivers. A sycamore grows to a gigantic height, and in trunk girth, it is the largest deciduous hardwood in North America. The state of Ohio seems to have a few monstrous sycamores, and according to the American Forestry Association, Ohio has one of the largest sycamore trees (129 feet tall, 48 feet in girth and a crown of 105 feet), which stands on the bank of the Muskingum River between Cleveland and Columbus.
In the North American forest, the sycamore also boasts the largest single-bladed leaf, as long as ten inches; three to five lobed and coarsely toothed.
The American sycamore is a notable and long-lived tree, often reaching five hundred years of age. However, once the sycamore reaches its middle years (perhaps two hundred) the tree will be hollow. Our early ancestors used these hollow trees for storage and as stables to house animals. I have been told that there is a sycamore stump in Muncy Valley that had been made into either an outhouse or a smokehouse.
Perhaps, the sycamore wood is most famous for its interlocking grain, making it impossible to split. The tree’s wood, which is seldom cut for firewood, is used for rolling pins, butter prints, butcher blocks, saddletrees, shipping crates and violin backs.
Throughout the East, the American sycamore tree has often been deemed a Historic Tree in honor of the deeds performed under its boughs. Washington and Lafayette met under a massive sycamore, in Stanton, Delaware, to plan their strategy for the upcoming Battle of Brandywine; Washington paused to rest under a sycamore in July of 1782, in Hope, New Jersey, and the citizens of Newport, Rhode Island, chose a sycamore as their Liberty Tree, which was cut down by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Perhaps the greatest honor bestowed on the sycamore came in the 20th century when the seeds of this tree were carried into space on the Apollo XIV Mission in 1971. The seeds were germinated, and these trees became known as the “moon sycamores”. Today, a moon sycamore stands in Washington Square, in Philadelphia, facing Independence Hall.