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Sycamore Trees

By Kyle Smith

Looks more like a sycamore to me! A line from one of Yogi Bear's classic comedies, uttered as he is pounded into the ground by a falling tree. What does Yogi Bear have to do with Garden City? Not much, I would think, but sycamores do have a lot to do with Garden City.

Added to this column's interest in the sycamore is that there is some debate on whether the street trees along certain Garden City streets are sycamores or London planes. The sycamore is a grand tree, majestic in its height and breadth. It grows to be one of the larger trees in the environments that it habitats (growing best in low elevations like Garden City). The sycamore provides excellent shade, has a long life and is relatively disease and insect resistant.

Its wood is used for furniture, boxes and similar items. When the wood is finished, it is attractive but not in the same category as maple, oak, walnut and the other top quality hardwoods. The resiliency of the tree is evidenced by the fact that rarely does one see limbs from a sycamore after the major windstorms that occasionally visit GC, while oaks and maples (also good hardwoods) often see big limbs torn off.

The sycamore is mainly distinguished by several other characteristics, some of these being a lot easier for our readers to spot. One is the unique bark of the sycamore appears to be a two-part "skin" to the tree. The outer layer, or older bark, is often in large scaly pieces that easily flake off and children often pick at the tree for that reason. The inner bark is tightly adhered to the tree and performs its protective function until it is old and pushed outward by a new layer of new bark.

But most characteristic, especially for children, is the "itchy ball." Yes, our wonderful sycamore is the source of this delightful item, which is actually the fruit of sycamore. The itchy ball has always been great fun, thrown as a ball or whipped by its stem, it has always been a great missile. As the itchy ball gets older, it softens somewhat and can be induced to release its pulp pollen by some serious pounding onto a rock or sidewalk.

On a more serious note, the fruit is really the key as to whether the tree is a sycamore or a London plane. The sycamore usually has a single fruit on a leaf and the plane has two fruits. Incidentally, the London plane is considered one of the world's finest urban trees. As its name indicates, it came to be found in "London Town" where its reputation includes the preferred tree for hanging.

It has been said that the last view of many an English criminal, or mutineer, in bygone days was a London plane tree. The Admiralty was said to have planted some on its inland naval stations so that, in the absence of a yardarm, there would be a convenient execution point.

But on to more pleasant thoughts, our clue for this week is which street has a wealth of sycamore/planes. It is a street that makes a 90 degree turn and has four letters in its first name and seven letters in its second "street" name. Note that a section of this street has a different tree as its street tree, the sycamores (or are they London planes) are clustered near the curve. If you locate the street, tell us whether the trees are sycamores or London planes.