The American sycamore is a ‘wow’ kind of tree. The huge trunks of this tree were used by Native Americans to make dugout canoes. One such canoe was reported to be over 65-feet long and weighed over 9000 pounds.¹ Native Americans steeped the tree’s the inner bark to make a tea used to treat colds, coughs, dysentery, the measles, and tuberculosis. An mixture of American sycamore and honey locust bark was used as a gargle to treat sore throats. Native Americans suffering from rheumatism found relief soaking their feet in water containing American sycamore bark and roots.²

Pioneers made use of their largest American sycamores, that were over 100 years old and hollow, as shelter for livestock, including a horse or a cow. Sometimes an entire pioneer family, prior to building a cabin, sheltered temporarily within a gigantic tree. Early settlers used short sections of trunk, with a hole drilled in the center, as crude wheels for ox carts. They also used 3- to 4-foot sections of hollow American sycamore trunks (adding a wooden bottom) as storage bins for grain.³

American sycamores are a single trunk tree that can grow 75 to 100 feet in twenty years. This massive tree is the largest native tree in eastern North America⁴ and its 4- to 9-inch leaves are also the largest leaves of all native American trees. Because of it’s rapid growth, a striking feature is its mottled bark pattern. The bark cannot stretch fast enough, so it sheds off in large sheets to expose a creamy white inner bark.⁵ Another signature feature are its flowers that produce thick brown fibrous balls which are the reason an American sycamore is also called a buttonball tree.

A variety of caterpillars and insects feed on the leaves of this tree. The seeds are a source of food, especially during winter, for a number of songbirds, such as the Purple Finch, Junco, Black-Capped Chickadees.⁶ As the tree ages its cavities can become nesting homes to the Barred Owl, Screech Owl, Wood Duck, and Great Crested Flycatcher. ⁷ Squirrels, bats, and other small mammals also find a home in this tree.

This stately tree is perfect in a large landscape area. There are some drawbacks to planting it in a yard lawn since there will be lots of leaves to rake in the fall and lots of scattered bark and brown balls, but the shade it will provide, the wildlife it supports and it’s majestic appearance might be a good trade off.