The simple, alternate star-shaped _leaf_, with its 5 to 7 points or
lobes, is 5 to 7 inches across and very aromatic. In the fall its
coloring is brilliant, ranging from pale yellow through orange and red
to a deep bronze.
The _flowers_ are of two kinds on the same tree, unfolding with the
leaves. The _fruit_ at first glance reminds one of the balls of the
sycamore, but on closer inspection proves to be a head. It measures an
inch or more in diameter and is made up of many capsules with projecting
spines. It frequently hangs on the tree by its long swinging stem late
into the winter.
The _wood_ is heavy, moderately hard, close-grained, and not durable on
exposure. The reddish-brown heartwood, which suggests the name, red gum,
is not present to any appreciable extent in logs under 16 inches in
diameter. In the South, the wood is extensively used for flooring,
interior finish, paper pulp and veneers for baskets of all kinds.
Veneers of the heartwood are largely used in furniture, sometimes as
imitation mahogany or Circassian walnut. This tree should be more widely
planted for ornamental use.
+SYCAMORE+ _Platanus occidentalis_ L.
THE sycamore, also called buttonwood, is considered the largest hardwood
tree in North America. It occurs throughout the State, but is most
abundant and reaches its largest size along streams and on rich bottom
lands. It is one of the more rapidly-growing trees. In maturity it
occasionally attains a height of 140 to 170 feet and a diameter of 10 to
11 feet. It often forks into several large secondary trunks, and the
massive spreading limbs form an open head sometimes 100 feet across.
[Illustration: SYCAMORE