# Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)

> A big, fast-growing maple to 35 m with five-lobed leaves and winged seeds that germinate everywhere. Sycamore is not native to Britain or Ireland but has been here for centuries and is now one of the commonest trees, valued as a tough street, shelterbelt and coastal tree and as a timber and bee tree. Conservationists debate it: it self-seeds into native woodland and is removed from many nature reserves, yet it also supports aphids, pollinators and nesting birds.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/acer-pseudoplatanus · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Sycamore maple, Great maple
- Family: Sapindaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 30 m; spread 20 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 400 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 7
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Almost any soil; tolerates exposure, salt spray and pollution
- Native range: Native to the mountains of central, eastern and southern Europe from France and Germany to the Balkans, Ukraine and the Caucasus; introduced to Britain and Ireland.

**Benefits:** Shade, Windbreak, Salt tolerant, Pollinators, Fast canopy, Long lived

**Good for:** Street tree, Windbreak, Timber, parks, Yard shade

**Watch out for:** Invasive elsewhere, Heavy litter, Large roots

## Care

Needs no special care once established; water the first summer. Prune in late summer to avoid bleeding. Sooty bark disease (Cryptostroma corticale) can kill stressed trees after hot summers and its spores can cause lung problems; horse chestnut scale and aphid honeydew are cosmetic. Expect prolific seedlings.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Austria; Germany; France; Italy; Poland
- **Adapted:** NSW, Australia (Introduced per WCVP); United Kingdom (Non-native (introduced by the Roman or Tudor period, naturalised by the mid-1800s); recorded on the GB Non-native Species Information Portal and targeted for removal on protected sites, but not listed on Schedule 9 or banned); Ireland (Non-native and widely naturalised; no official invasive listing found); New Zealand (Introduced and naturalised on both islands per WCVP)
- **Recommended:** Denver, CO, United States (On the Denver Office of the City Forester Approved Street Tree List)

## Sources

- https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/sycamore/
- https://nonnativespecies.org/non-native-species/information-portal/view/25
- https://www.gbif.org/species/3189870
- https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=275368
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/acer-pseudoplatanus/