Habitat

• native to eastern half of United States
• hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• a large, deciduous tree
• pyramidal in youth
• broad, rounded crown when mature
• 75' to 90' tall
• 60' to 70' wide
• coarse texture
• rapid growth rate

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leaves
• 3 to 5 lobed margins
• ovate leaf shape
• 6" to 10" long
• medium green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• turning yellow-brown

Flowers

• monoecious, with separate male and female flowers
• deep red flowers
• blooms in late March
• not ornamentally important

Fruit

• rounded, tannish brown fruit
• 1" in diameter
• fuzzy looking
• found solitarily
• showy
• persist

Bark

• exfoliating bark
• low branched
• showy
• stout stems
• red to gray-brown color
• white inner bark
• zigzag stems

Culture

• moist, deep, rich well-drained soil
• full sun
• moderately salt and drought tolerant

Landscape Use

• lawn tree
• street tree when large spaces are available
• good for difficult growing sites
• good urban tree
• for shade
• for decoration from showy bark

Liabilities

• can be pollarded and pleached readily
• canker strains is a serious problem
• anthracnose
• cold injury in harsh winters
• powdery mildew
• American plum borer
• sycamore lacebug
• can lift sidewalks
• fruit can be a litter problem
• bacterial leaf scorch

ID Features

• no terminal bud
• buds are conical, 0.25" long, blunt pointed and dark reddish brown
• leaf scars completely surround the buds
• exfoliating bark
• has creamy white inner bark
• solitary fruits

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Howard' - The new foliage of this mutation emerges bright yellow, but fades as the summer progreses. A hard-to-find novelty.