STATELY SYCAMORES THESE ENORMOUS, EASILY IDENTIFIED TREES CAN BE SPOTTED IN ALMOST EVERY METROPARKS LOCATION.
The sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is perhaps one of the most impressive native trees in Ohio. Its skyscraping, whitebarked limbs cast a stark contrast against blue skies and green foliage. Sometimes growing to be more than 100 feet tall and more than five feet in diameter, sycamores typically grow along streams and in rich bottomland forests. The sycamore’s colorful bark is its most recognizable feature. Unlike the bark of most trees, sycamores’ bark doesn’t stretch as it grows. Instead, plate-like scales along its trunk fall off as the tree grows and leave behind pale yellow, white, grey or green patches on the trunk. The sycamore’s large leaves make this an excellent shade tree. Finding the largest sycamore leaf on the ground is a great activity for kids. Green leaves are munched on by the caterpillar of tiger swallowtail butterflies, as well as about 37 other species of moths and butterflies, which in turn are excellent food sources for birds — making sycamores an important part of the food chain. Sycamore trees tend to become hollow over time, which is caused by a fungus that rarely results in serious damage to the tree. Rather, wildlife often use these hollow trees for shelter. This is just one more reason sycamores are an important part of a healthy forest in Montgomery County! Sycamore Trees in Your MetroParks: • Find a shady sycamore tree to sit under and read a book: Eastwood MetroPark by the lagoon • Find the largest sycamores: Germantown MetroPark, orange trail, old forest • Find wildlife in a sycamore: Woodman Fen Conservation Area, boardwalk trail
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