The sycamore is referred to in North America as the sycamore maple, and the sycamore means, what in Britain is known as, the American plane. The confusions is understandable because the trees are similar.

              The scientific name for the sycamore is Acer Pseudoplatanus and this is because of its visual similarity to the plane tree. Pseudo, as in someone who is pretentious, means that it is like platanus which is the name for plane trees, and Acer is the scientific name which covers the whole maple family.
           
              So, what are the similarities? The leaves are more or less of the same shape and the bark is flaky. The London plane and the sycamore have like profiles, and are used to ornament towns.

              The biggest difference comes in the nuts. The sycamore has what is called double samaras (see identification section), while the plane has round spiky nuts.

            The sycamore comes from the maple family and like most maples, it is possible to extract a syrup from its bark. Don't expect it to be too tasty though: what we call maple syrup comes from the sugar maple, a Canadian tree.

            The twigs of the sycamore are windy and curled. This makes it stand out in the winter, though in truth it takes some practice before you master this way of recognizing it, but it is certainly worth looking out for because the silhouette of the sycamore is very beautiful.

Bare of leaves in the winter.

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Other Trees at Tower Hill

black poplar      London plane     acacia

Norway maple     rowan      bird cherry

ginkgo     honey locust

Tower of London