PLATANACEAE - - Plane-tree Family

Platanus occidentalis Linnaeus — Sycamore, Plane-tree

Sycamore, Plane-tree (Platanus occidentalis) - Tree with a maximum trunk diameter of over 4 m., becoming 50 m. tall; leaves numerous; blades angularly 3—5 lobed, permanently woolly on the veins beneath, mostly truncate at least at the base, the lobes acute; flowers green or purplish; fruiting heads solitary, subglobose, 2—4 cm. in diameter, drooping. Frequently grown as a shade tree. Sections of the trunk are used for butcher's blocks. The wood is used for furniture, interior finish, and boxes.

Habitat:

Riverbanks and alluvial forests, streambanks, sometimes weedy on rocky roadcuts. One of the largest trees in e. North America, and probably the largest that is widespread in the Piedmont of our area.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Platanus occidentalis (Sycamore, Plane-tree)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Platanus occidentalis (Sycamore, Plane-tree)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.