All photographs are copyrighted and are the property of E. Brunner.
All photographs are copyrighted and are the property of E. Brunner.
Family: Aceraceae
Native or Introduced to Illinois: introduced
Leaf: Opposite, simple, and palmately-veined, 5 to 7 lobed with long pointed "teeth", exudes milky white sap from the petiole when detached, dark green above, paler below. Leaves are dark green, and purple varieties exist.Flower: Appear in early spring, before leaves; yellow-green in color, with male and female usually on different trees.
Fruit: Widely divergent 2-winged samaras, 1 1/2 to 2 inches long in clusters, relatively flat seed cavity, mature in summer.
Twig: Stout, with a large, turban-shaped, green to purple(fall and winter) terminal bud.
Bark: Gray to brown, corky, on older trees shallowly furrowed with long narrow, somewhat interlacing ridges.
Size/Form/Shape: Medium-sized tree, usually with a dense rounded crown.
Other: The heavy homogeneous wood is less white than the sycamore and of less value. There are a number of smaller varities, some with leaves that are red for all or part of the summer.
County Distribution Map for Illinois:
Sources for the Sullivan Middle School Tree Identification Guide were obtained though the use of the following sites:
- Illinois Plant Information Network (ILPIN) @ http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/delaware/ilpin/ilpin.html#Background
- List of Woody Plants Native or Naturalized in Illinois @ http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/woody.html
- Tree Species @ http://ostermiller.org/tree/species.html
- Index to Eastern/Central Trees @ http://www.arborday.org/trees/ECtreelist.html
- ISU Forestry Extension Identification of Common Trees of Iowa @ http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/tree/
- Key to Leaves of Virginia Trees @ http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/key/intro.htm
- List of Native Trees for Use Along Roadsides in Illinois @ http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/treetable.html
- The PLANTS Database @ http://plants.usda.gov/