# American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

> One of the biggest trees in the East, fast-growing to 75-100 feet with a massive trunk and mottled white and gray bark that peels in plates. Big maple-like leaves and hanging seed balls make a lot of litter. It wants deep, moist soil and room; in Austin, the Grow Green guide steers people to the Mexican sycamore instead, which resists bacterial leaf scorch.

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

## Facts

- Also called: Sycamore, American plane tree, Buttonwood
- Family: Platanaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 27 m; spread 25 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 250 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 9
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Likes water
- Soil: Deep, moist bottomland loams and silty clays; adaptable to pH but not to dry, shallow rock
- Native range: Eastern North America from Maine and Ontario to Nebraska, south to the Florida panhandle and east Texas

**Benefits:** Shade, Fast canopy, Wildlife, Birds, Flood tolerant, Stores carbon well

**Good for:** parks, Streambanks, Yard shade

**Watch out for:** Heavy litter, Large roots, Pest prone, Surface roots

## Care

Plant only where it has deep soil, steady moisture and space away from pavement and foundations. Water heavily through establishment. Expect anthracnose to brown and drop leaves in wet springs, and lace bugs to speckle them in summer; neither is usually fatal. Rake often; twigs, bark and fruit balls fall year-round.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** United States (Also native in: CT, DC, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WI, WV (USDA PLANTS distribution)); AL, United States; AR, United States; FL, United States; GA, United States; LA, United States; MS, United States; NC, United States; OK, United States; SC, United States; TN, United States; TX, United States (Native to east Texas; Austin's Grow Green list recommends Mexican sycamore (Platanus mexicana) rather than this species)
- **Recommended:** Denver, CO, United States (On the Denver Office of the City Forester Approved Street Tree List); Washington, DC, United States (On the Casey Trees Tree Rebate eligible species list); Atlanta, GA, United States (On the Trees Atlanta Top 50 Atlanta Trees list); Dallas, TX, United States (On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List)

## Sources

- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PLOC
- https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PLOC
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/platanus-occidentalis/
- https://www.austintexas.gov/watershed-protection/plant-guide/sycamore-mexican
- https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/plaocc/all.html