Sycamore

The Sycamores, Platanus occidentalis, did extremely well this year. A disease went through this area about 15 years ago that took out a lot of big Sycamores and made me wonder if any were going to be spared. Most that survived came back as stump sprouts like this tree above. Fortunately, trees will make tremendous growth if they are sprouting from an established healthy root system. I hope that sinuous base isn’t going to be trouble later on.

Fruits were abundant on all of the trees. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Sycamores here put on fruit like this. Those fruits will hang tight through the winter and then break up in the spring to allow the seeds to disperse.

The lower bark is taking on a nice flaky appearance. Any time I see flaky bark, I think of homes for bats and insects.

The younger trees tend to show more of the clean white trunks. As they mature, odd bits of bark that don’t properly exfoliate give the trunk a more mottled appearance. Sycamores can grow to enormous size. I hope these have a chance to do just that.