Scientific Classification:

Kingdom Plantae
Unranked Angiosperms
Unranked Eudicots
Order Sapindales
Family Sapindaceae
Genus Acer
Species A. pseudoplatanus
Binomial name Acer pseudoplatanus

Other Common Names:

The other common names for the sycamore tree are Sycamore maple. It is also referred by some native names like Old Irish, Scots Gaelic, Old English, Welsh (marsanwydd) and eastern Celtic.



History

The sycamore is a well-known tree, thought to have been introduced to Britain from Europe in the 15th or 16th Century. The name "sycamore" originally belongs to the fig species Ficus sycomorus native to southwest Asia (this is the sycamore or sycomore referred to in the Bible), and was later misapplied to this species (and others; see also Platanus) by reason of the superficial similarity in leaf shape. It is a hardy tree, resistant to exposure inland and on the coast, and has been extensively employed as a shelter belt around exposed houses: many old farmsteads still have such sycamore shelter plantings in their vicinity.

SYCAMORE ACER PSEUDOPLANTANUS
Apart from planted trees, sycamore spreads readily by wind-blown seed carried in the characteristic "double samaras" or winged fruits. Many woods are now invaded by Sycamore, which will grow vigorously in shade and reaches maturity very quickly, so woods rapidly become a monoculture of sycamore. Egypt was called the land of the Sycamore. The paired, winged fruits of sycamore are known to children as 'helicopters' in England because of their propeller-like path of descent. The maximum age of a sycamore is thought to be around 500 years.

Description

The sycamore is a deciduous tree that reaches 20-35 m tall at maturity, with a broad, domed crown. On young trees, the bark is smooth and grey but becomes rougher with age and breaks up in scales, exposing the pale-brown-to-pinkish inner bark. The leaves are opposite, 7-16 cm long, with 5 coarsely-toothed lobes. They are green and hairless above, paler and hairy only on the veins below. The leaf-stalks, 10-20 cm long, are often red. The leaves may be blotched by a fungus called 'tar spot', which is harmless.

SYCAMORE TREES1SYCAMORE TREES2 SYCAMORE TREES3
The monoecious yellow-green flowers are produced in spring on 10-20 cm pendulous racemes, with 20-50 flowers on each stalk. The 5-10 mm diameter seeds are paired in samaras, each seed with a 20-40 mm long wing to catch the wind and rotate when they fall; this helps them to spread further from the parent tree. The seeds are mature in autumn about 6 months after pollination. The grey bark is fissured and turns pinkish-brown with age. Sprays of yellowish-green, 5-petalled flowers hang downwards, appearing with the leaves in May. The join between the 2 winged fruits or 'samaras', each 3.5-5 cm long, forms a right-angle, or less.

Range

The sycamore is native to central and southern Europe. The Sycamore or Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) is one of the most common maples in Europe, native to central Europe from France east to Poland, and south (in mountains) to northernmost Spain and Turkey. Sycamores now occur throughout Britain and Ireland, having been introduced in the 17th century.



Habitat

The Sycamore (Acer Pseudoplatanus) may be found in the parks and on the edge of the roads. In its native range, this tree occurs in woods and hedgerows. It is an extremely robust species, and in Britain thrives in many habitats, even in city parks, and by the coast where native trees become stunted.

Cultivation

The Sycamore maple should be grown in a bright place, with direct sunlight. With a particularly windy climate we suggest securing young trees to long solid stakes, to avoid that the wind could bare young and not very developed roots; specimens which are only a few years old might fear intense cold and wind. The Sycamore maple should be grown outdoors; it can bear very harsh temperatures without any problems, even many degrees below zero. Tree fertilization should be done at the beginning of the spring or of autumn, using humus or mature manure; this should be done by mixing a few buckets of fertilizer to the ground, around the trunk of the tree, every 2-3 years or when the tree implanted.

Seeds are best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame; it usually germinates in the following spring. Pre-soak stored seed for 24 hours and then stratify or 2 - 4 months at 1 - 8°c. It can be slow to germinate. Seed should not be dried below 35% moisture. It should germinate in late winter. If the seed is harvested too soon it will produce very weak plants or no plants at all. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall before planting them out in their permanent positions. Layering, which takes about 12 months, is successful with most species in this genus. Cuttings of young shoots in June or July. The cuttings should have 2 - 3 pairs of leaves, plus one pair of buds at the base. Remove a very thin slice of bark at the base of the cutting; rooting is improved if a rooting hormone is used. The rooted cuttings must show new growth during the summer before being potted up otherwise they are unlikely to survive the winter.

Flowering Season

Many yellowish flowers grow in narrow, drooping heads on the sycamore tree which are in bloom from April to June.

Pests and Diseases

Sycamore is susceptible to Sooty Bark Disease and Diamond Bark Disease Canker in dry warm weather, as well as a condition called Tar Spot which leaves black marks on the leaves and seeds. Nevertheless it is fairly robust and can usually be relied on to reach maturity. It is also affected by aphids and fungal diseases.

Parts Used

SYCAMORE PARTS1 SYCAMORE PARTS2

The bark, leaves, fruit, sap and the seedpods are the most commonly used parts of the sycamore tree for its commercial and medicinal purposes.

Medicinal Applications

SYCAMORE MEDICINE

• The juice, or milk, is taken from the bark is made into troches and applied to tumours which it softens and dissolves.

• It also solders together the lips of fresh wounds.

• The fruit used as a local analgesic.

• The bark has mild astringent properties and has been used to make a wash for skin problems and eyewash for sore eyes.

• The fruit can also be applied as a plaster.

• Sycamore acts as a Vulnerary.

Commercial Applications

SYCAMORE COMMERCIAL1 SYCAMORE COMMERCIAL2

• Sycamore is planted for timber production; the wood is white with a silky lustre, and hard-wearing, used for furniture and flooring.

• European sycamore is a traditional wood used in creating necks, backs, and scrolls for violins.

• Sycamore flowers produce abundant nectar, which makes a fragrant, delicately flavoured and pale-coloured honey.

• The juice has been used to make wine.

• As it burns well, it is used for charcoal as part of woodland management.

• It is a good fuel and also makes a good charcoal that can be used as a fuel.

• It was used to make rollers in textile mills.

• In Scotland ladles for kail were scooped out of Sycamore wood.

• The sap contains sugar which is made into a syrup and used as a sweetener on many foods.


Astrology

SYCAMORE ASTROLOGy
According to the astro reports the sycamore tree is under the dominion of the planet Venus.

Cultural and Religious Significance

The hieroglyph representing "Sycamore" was used as determinative when writing the name of all Egyptian trees. Twin Sycamores of turquoise were believed to stand at the eastern gates of heaven, from which the sun god Re emerged every day called The Big Tree on The Eastern Horizon. The tomb of Osiris was build in Sycamore wood, and shaded by Sycamore trees.'Nut', the Goddess of the Sky, is represented in the branches of the Sycamore taking on the attributes of 'Hathor': mercy, compassion and protection.

Folklores and Myths

In Wales, clogs and love-spoons are fashioned from sycamore wood, harvest cakes were baked upon sycamore leaves in the West-country, and sycamores are often one of the first trees a child learns to recognise, by virtue of the 'helicopter' seeds. There are also many 'landmark' sycamores around the country, the most famous of which is the Martyrs' Tree on To puddle Green in Dorset. In the 1830s, the Tolpuddle Martyrs formed the first agricultural trade union at meetings held beneath this famous tree; they were deported to Australia, as meetings of this kind were illegal at that time.

The tree still survives, and is currently cared for by the Trades Union Congress. The deceased hoped to live in the Sycamore tree. In The Book of the Dead there are examples of a letter the deceased would write to the Goddess of The Tree, containing a prayer so that she would provide water and air. Sycamores were often planted near tombs, and models of the leaves of the tree were used as funerary amulets. Burial in Sycamore coffins was a symbolic return into the womb of the mother tree goddess. The Sycamore tree is often depicted dispensing food and drink of immortality, symbolizing the perpetual renewal in the after world. The sap and the fruit of the Sycamore symbolize mercy and compassion.