American Sycamore Tree
The large, leaning tree in this picture is the American Sycamore. I often find them along river banks where they lean either because of soil erosion or to access better sunlight.
These trees are massive and have very distinctive bark, which flakes off in irregular chunks, leaving the surface mottled. The bark flakes off because it is very rigid and lacks the elasticity that the bark of other trees have. So, it is incapable of stretching to accommodate the growth of the wood underneath and sloughs off the tree instead.
''Platanus occidentalis'', also known as American sycamore, American planetree, occidental plane, and buttonwood, is one of the species of ''Platanus'' native to North America. It is usually called sycamore in North America, a name which can refer to other types of tree in other parts of the world.
