Feature Plant: Sycamore

Sue Hunter, Owner, Heartwood Nursery

What is the one of the most recognizable trees in the winter time? If you said Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), you are right! 

With their satiny smooth and luminous white bark, Sycamores only get more beautiful as they age. Not many species can boast that! The sight of their pearly, irregular limbs stretching toward the heavenly blue sky when it’s freezing cold can make any nature lover feel a warm spark of joy. I am always in awe of the birds who sit high on the topmost branches and the compelling view they must have from their lofty perspective. 

Mature Sycamore trees are valuable nesting sites and a food source for Finches, Juncos, Chickadees, Nuthatches and Orioles to name a few. Eagles and Heron prefer nesting in the top of the Sycamore’s crown, which can reach a height of one hundred feet. Owls, Raccoons and Squirrels nest in the hollow portions of the branches.

Sycamores will habitat in sun or shade, and tolerate wet or dry soil. A common place to see a community of naturally occurring Sycamore is along a stream or river bank. Tiny seed no larger than a speck of dust are deposited by the late winter winds into the water. Floating with the current, some of the seed will be gently washed ashore onto a muddy bank and rest there, waiting to germinate as the days become longer and warmer. Other seeds may become fish food, and be deposited to grow much farther from their parent tree!

When my children were little, one of their favorite books was The Ghost-Eye Tree by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. The book is about two children who are sent on a nighttime errand to town and must pass by a tree with long, spooky branches. My youngest quickly compared the Sycamore tree to the Ghost Eye tree, and as he got older, Sycamore became one of his favorite trees.

Growing up and listening to stories passed down by older friends of the family, I remember one story in particular. Mrs. B grew up in a family with many sisters. It was hard on the family making ends meet, especially at Christmas time. The sisters were resourceful and creative. They would collect the Sycamore balls (seeds) while they were still hard and unripe in December, and wrap them with scraps of aluminum foil they saved all year-round. Such beautiful, silvery, shiny Christmas ornaments to adorn their tree!

Along the property line in the back of my woods stands one lone, aging Sycamore. In a woods full of Hickories, Oaks, and Maples, it’s a mystery as to how one tiny seed ever germinated there. Most of the Sycamore trees I grow and sell here at the Nursery are seeds from that tree. I haven’t been able to sit with it much this winter because of the ice and the snow. We’re looking forward to a visit soon.