Central Park Conservancy : Sycamore Maple

Sycamore Maple

Scientific Name: Acer pseudoplatanus
Common Name: Sycamore Maple
Division: Magnoliophyta
Family: Aceraceae
Genus: Acer

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Another European import; like the Norway Maple, its fellow traveler, this is an extremely aggressive tree. The Central Park Conservancy treats it in the same way and has removed thousands from our woodlands and replaced them with native oaks and maples. Formerly it was planted along the coast as well as on streets because of its tolerance to salt.

Sycamore Maple tree
Sycamore Maple at East 92nd
Street between East Drive
and the Reservoir

Flower
Detail of Sycamore Maple tree flower Yellow. Clusters in drooping 3 to 5 inch spikes, which are borne when tree is in full leaf.

Fruit
Pair of winged samaras spreading at about a 45 degree angle, about
1-1/2 inches long, maturing late summer/early fall.

Leaf

Has 5 lobes, 3 to 6 inches wide, with a leathery seersucker look. Dark green on top, light green underneath.

Bark
On older trees mottled with older gray bark peeling off, revealing orange bark below. This is the Sycamore Maple’s best feature.

Form: Medium-sized, up to 60 - 70 feet. Usually with wide-spreading crown and short trunk.
LOCATIONS IN CENTRAL PARK
Northeast gate at Conservatory Garden, 106th Street off Fifth Avenue
Bridge #27, southwest corner of Reservoir

Photo Credit:
Mark Brand, UCONN Plant Database, http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/ (bark)
Matthew Brown, Central Park Conservancy
Neil Calvanese, Central Park Conservancy