Sycamore maple

The Sycamore maple is a deciduous plant that grows as a shrub or small tree and can reach a height of 6-10 metres, in some cases up to 16 metres. When young, it has an inverted pyramidal growth habit, whereas in mature specimens it takes on a dome shape.

The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with 5-7 or 9 deeply incised lobes and are 3.5-6 cm long and 3-7 cm wide.

The flowers, which bloom between March and April, are unisexual or hermaphrodite, arranged in inconspicuous umbel panicles 5-6 mm in diameter.

The fruits are strongly divergent, long-stalked double-winged fruits, each winged fruit is 1.5-2 cm in size and ripens in late summer. The seed requires stratification to germinate.