PLANE TREE FAMILY
231. SYCAMORE or buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis L.) a common tree, along stream banks and in low woods, often the largest tree in its locality as it grows rapidly. Bark: thin, smooth, greenish gray, flaking off in large patches and exposing the under bark which is whitish like that on limbs, especially conspicuous in winter woods. Leaves: 4 to 7 inches long and about as broad, very coarsely toothed, often shallowly 3 or 5-lobed, light green above, paler below. Twigs: slender, rather shiny and zigzag; bud with a single, cap-like scale, enclosed by the base of the leaf-stalk. Fruit: a compact ball about 1 inch across, remaining on its drooping stem all winter, composed of many seeds which separate and are blown away in spring. Often planted as street tree because of rapid growth and resistance to drouth, but the large leaves and flaking bark cause unsightly litter. Wood: coarse-grained, hard, not strong, heavy, hard to split; used for butchers’ blocks, furniture, interior trim, and tobacco boxes.