The sycamore tree after the rain

October 24, 5:09 AMSoutheast MI Home & Living ExaminerJackie DiGiovanni

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Photo by Jackie DiGiovanni

On Thursday, the front yard was raked clean of leaves. On Friday, the rain brought down a great many leaves from the single street tree.

The street trees in my neighborhood are sycamores. Articles usually describe the tree as having "mottled exfoliating bark." That is a nice way of saying that the tree sheds profusely. The wood under the bark is blotchy, in colors of white, gray, brown, and pale green. The trunk coloration is similar to the Army's desert camouflage. The shedding seems to vary on a three-year schedule, heavy in year 1, lighter in years 2 and 3, and then heavy again.

Sycamores can grow as high as 100 feet. The leaf canopy is thick. They are good shade trees. They also tangle with electric wires and make it harder to grow grass.

There are seed pods ranging from marble size to almost tennis ball size. The smaller branches are brittle and break off easily in high winds or heavy rains. If the tree is in poor health, it will drop its leaves in early summer and the seed pods will be small. If the tree is in good health, the leaves are quite large.
 

Photo by Jackie DiGiovanni

This picture shows three leaves. They are not lovely. Most of the leaves that drop are brown. Yes, I looked to find the larger ones. The combined spread of three leaves is 39 inches. 

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