American sycamore
American sycamore is one of the few wood species that can be confused with its European cousin Acer pseudoplatnus, which is botanically different.
Latin Name
Platanus occidentalis
Other Common Names
Buttonwood, American plane
Forest Distribution
American sycamore trees are generally huge, being one of the largest hardwood species in North America, growing throughout the eastern and central USA in natural hardwood forests. Several other American planes, as they are called, grow in California and Arizona but are not commercially significant.
FOREST GROWTH
FIA data shows sycamore growing stock in the U.S. (excluding California and Arizona) is 144.5 million m3, 1% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American sycamore is growing 4.00 million m3 per year while the harvest is 1.22 million m3 per year. The net volume (after harvest) is increasing 2.78 million m3 each year. U.S. sycamore growth exceeds harvest in all supplying states.