Sometimes a tree can tell you more
than can be read in a book
~ ~ C. G. Jung
American Sycamore's fruit
average about one inch in diameter
than can be read in a book
~ ~ C. G. Jung
average about one inch in diameter
Lined up on my deck railing, above, are the small fruit of the American Sycamore tree (Platanus occidentalis) -- an ancient tree species that has remained unchanged since before the ice age or about 50 million years ago.
This tree intrigues me for its antiquity as well as its beauty on the landscape.
Sycamores are on my walking trail that runs along a creek bed. They dangle individually from small stringy stalks all through the winter. I collect them from the ground when they drop off randomly throughout the season.
Sycamore fruit hanging on stringy stalks
photo credit: ETSU Arboretum
Inside my home, I place the fruit in glass jars keeping them as symbolic reminders of the tree's strength and endurance. The trees are massive, can live for hundreds of years, and are one of the oldest species of trees on this earth. They are survivors. We all can be survivors through our strength and endurance.
Scaly bark on sycamore trunks.
When you see a sycamore today you are seeing the same unchanged species that existed millions of years ago.
Native to the eastern part of the country they usually are found along creeks, streams and rivers. They usually dominate the other trees found along these waterways.
