{"id":21161,"date":"2023-02-21T09:04:07","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T13:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=21161"},"modified":"2025-08-05T14:59:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T18:59:52","slug":"intro-to-trees-of-indiana-sycamore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-of-indiana-sycamore\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees of Indiana: Sycamore"},"content":{"rendered":"

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was\u00a0published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.\u00a0\u00a0Nearly 70 years later, the publication has\u00a0been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,\u00a0Indiana 4-H<\/a>, and\u00a0the\u00a0Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0full publication<\/a> is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field\u00a0guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to\u00a0Trees of Indiana web\u00a0series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a>\u00a0to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a>\u00a0exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.<\/p>\n

This week, we meet Sycamore or\u00a0Platanus occidentalis\"drawing<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The large leaves of this species have three to five lobes and loosely resemble that of maples, but are significantly larger and are alternately held, versus the opposite leaf arrangement of maples. The bright green, broadly toothed leaves and stems are slightly fuzzy to the touch.<\/p>\n

The bark on the lower part of the tree is scaly and brown, while the upper trunk and limbs are smooth, shiny and white. The bark peels revealing patches of white, gray and green.<\/p>\n

The fruit of the Sycamore is a soft, one-inch brown ball-like seed head, which hangs on a long stem. The seeds shatter during winter months.<\/p>\n

Sycamore trees, which grow 75 to 100 feet tall, are among Indiana\u2019s largest deciduous trees. They are often found on stream or creek bottoms and other moist soil areas. This species is tolerant of clay soil, occasional flooding and road salt.<\/p>\n

The natural range of the sycamore is the central and eastern United States. It extends from eastern Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas west across Iowa Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and up into southern Michigan and parts of New York and Massachusetts. It extends down the Atlantic coast to southern Georgia and across Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, but do not reach the Gulf coast.<\/p>\n

The Morton Arboretum<\/a> warns that sycamores are best planted in full sun as it does not tolerate shady sites and should not be grown near septic fields. This species can be affected by anthracnose, leaf spots, aphids, plant bugs, scale insects, bagworms and borers and is also susceptible to frost cracks.<\/p>\n