(Platanus wrightii ) Arizona Sycamore

DESCRIPTION

The UofAz tree about 30 feet tall.
The leaves are deciduous, 3-5 parted, toothed margined, smooth on both surfaces.
The trunk is 2 feet in diameter, white with large gray-brown, pealing scales.
The UofAz tree is mature, but it is smaller than trees growing in nature along streamsides, which reach 80 feet.

SYSTEMATICS
(USDA NRCS, 2004)

• Platanaceae
  
• Platanus
  
• wrightii
  

BIOGEOGRAPHY (USDI, USGS, 2004) Along streams from 600 to 2000 m elevation in sub-Mogollon Arizona, adjacent New Mexico and northern Sonora.

REPRODUCTION
(Van Gausig, 1999; Oklahoma Biological Survey, 1999)

• Male and female flowers in separate balls of tightly-clustered flowers.
  
• Sycamores are wind-pollinated.
  
• Individual fruits are about 1/4 inch long, conical, and with basal hairs; many fruits are born tightly together in round balls. Platanus wrightii has 3-4 balls on a branch.
  
• The seeds are wind or water-dispersed.
  
• Birds and small mammals eat the fruits (Schalau, 2001).
  
• Can reproduce by root sprouts (WRRC, 1996).
  

ECOLOGY

• Platanus wrightii occurs in the Lower Sonoran through Transition zones along streamsides.
• Sycamores are hosts to mistletoes (Phoradendron sp.) (Parasitic Plants, N.D.)
• Sycamores are attacked by fungi (blights and mildews) and the Sycamore Lace Bug (Kluepfel et al., N.D.)
• Platanus wrightii reproduction has been reduced in southern Arizona by overgrazing along streams. It is used for revegetation of Riparian areas. (WRRC, 1996).
  

REFERENCES

Kapp, R.O., Davis, O.K., and King, J.E. 2000. Ronald O. Kapp's Pollen and Spores, Second Edition. American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists, Dallas, Texas. 279 p.

Kluepfel, M., Scott, J.M., Blake, J.H., and Gorsuch, G.H. No Date. HGIC211 Sycamore Problems. Clemson University Extension, Home and Garden Information Center. http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC2011.htm Date viewed March 9, 2004.

Montgomery, F.H. 1977. Seeds and fruits of plants of eastern Canada and northeastern United States. University of Toronto Press, Buffalo New York, 232 p.

Oklahoma Biological Survey. 1999. Oklahoma Biological Survey Home Page Platanus occidentalis L. http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/ploc.htm Last updated September 9, 1999, date viewed March 9, 2004.

Parasitic Plants, N.D. www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/ Date viewed March 9, 2004.

Schalau, J. 2001. Backyard gardner, growing native trees from seed. Agriculture & Natural Resources, Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County. http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/ Last updated October 3, 2001, date viewed March 9, 2004.

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 2004. Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps from "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr. (and other publications). http://climchange.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/ Last updated Wednesday, January 14, 2004, date viewed March 9, 2004.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2004. Platanus L. sycamore. http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=PLATA HTML file generated March 9, 2004, date viewed March 9, 2004.

Von Gausig, D. 1999. Plants of the Verde Valley & Sedona Page Arizona Sycamore Platanus wrightii http://www.naturesongs.com/vvplants/azsycamore.html Date viewed March 9, 2004.

WRRC (Arizona Water Resource Research Center). 1996. Special Projects. (Vol. 5, No. 2). ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/awr/may96/mspecial.html Date viewed March 9, 2004.