The sycamore family consists of only one genus, Platanus , which includes about 7 species of trees. 3 of these trees grows in the United States, and one, the American sycamore, is found throughout the forests of the Southeast. It usually branches about 20-80 feet above the ground into a massive, spreading, open, somewhat irregular crown. Leaves Leaves are simple, alternate, and deciduous.
Leaves have a long, tapered apex.
The leaf base is flat or heart-shaped. Leaf margins wavy, with short or long tapering teeth. The leaf surfaces are light green and glabrous above, with pubescence along the veins below. Leaf petioles are stout, 3-5 inches long, enclosing the lateral buds in their swollen bases. The flowers are unisexual and very small, appearing in dense, stalked heads.