Do Sycamore Trees Make You Sick? Yes, sycamore trees can make you sick. The lower parts of the leaves of the sycamore tree develop fine dust. This dust is an irritant to the respiratory system and can cause allergies.
What is bad about sycamore trees?
Many problems are associated with sycamore trees. It’s fairly messy, shedding a generous supply of leaves, seed balls, twigs and strips of bark. The tiny hairs on the seed balls irritate skin and can cause respiratory distress if inhaled by sensitive people.
What happens if a horse eats sycamore seeds?
Atypical myopathy (“Sycamore poisoning”) is a frequently fatal disease of horses caused by eating Sycamore seeds (“helicopters”) or seedlings. The disease results in muscle damage and particularly affects the muscles that enable the horse to stand and breathe.
What is a sycamore tree good for?
Wildlife benefit from hollow sycamore trees, using them as storage chambers for nuts, nesting sites and shelter. The enormous size of a sycamore tree makes it impractical for the average home landscape, but they make great shade trees in parks, along stream banks and in other open areas.
Why is my sycamore tree hollow?
Sycamores have strong wood with several uses, but as the tree ages, a fungus attacks and consumes the heartwood. The fungus doesn’t kill the tree, but it makes it weak and hollow. Wildlife benefit from hollow sycamore trees, using them as storage chambers for nuts, nesting sites and shelter.
Does sycamore make you sick?
Atypical Myopathy is another name for this and obviously is related to grazing in the region of sycamore trees. The helicopter seeds and the leaves are poisonous, containing the poison Hypoglycin A (HGA) which causes muscle damage.
Is a sycamore tree poisonous?
The seeds and seedlings of the sycamore tree contain the toxic agent hypoglycin A, which causes severe muscle damage.
Can sycamore trees make you cough?
Scratchy throat If you are sensitized to maple sycamore trees and have asthma, the tree pollen may trigger or worsen asthma symptoms such as coughing and wheezing.
What does sycamore do in the body?
Tea from inner bark used to treat dysentery, colds, lung ailments, measles, and cough. Bark has emetic and laxative effects.
What is special about a sycamore tree?
The most striking feature of the tree is the bark that has a camouflage pattern comprised of gray-brown outer bark that peels off in patches to reveal the light gray or white wood beneath. Older trees often have solid, light gray trunks. Sycamores also go by the names buttonwood or buttonball trees.
How do you identify a sycamore tree?
The best way to identify sycamore trees is by their mottled, peeling bark that gives the tree a scabby look. Sycamore leaves have three or five lobes and are light green to dark green. In winter, sycamore trees are easy to spot due to the brown balls hanging from bare stems.
Are some people allergic to sycamore trees?
Sycamore pollen is small, wind-borne, and moderately allergenic. It is reported that sycamore pollen is exceeded only by oaks in its importance in being a cause of some cases of hay fever.
Are sycamore trees toxic to dogs?
Sycamore trees are quite beautiful, and thankfully not toxic to dogs.
What can I do with sycamore bark?
Chunks of its bark can be use for a coffee substitute. And while it may never come to this, sycamores can grow so large they have hollow trunks and many a settler sought long-term shelter inside a sycamore. It was not uncommon to house a pig to a horse inside a living sycamore.
What is the medicinal value of sycamore tree?
Ethnobotanic: Native Americans used sycamore for a variety of medicinal purposes, including cold and cough remedies, as well as dietary, dermatological, gynecological, respiratory, and gastrointestinal aids.
What is sycamore fruit in the Bible?
The sycamore itself has been mentioned several times throughout the Jewish Bible, having been noted as one of the "Plants of the Bible." The sycamore is in the same family as the common fig tree, and figs are one of the seven native species of Israel.
Can sycamore fruit be eaten?
notable Ficus species is the sycamore fig (F. sycomorus), which has mulberry-like leaves, hard wood, and edible fruit.
What are the problems with sycamore trees?
The truth is that sycamore trees suffer from a variety of problems. Here are three of the most common: Sycamore anthracnose. Sycamore plant bug. Sycamore scale. You’ll learn how to identify and treat these problems in this post.
How to treat sycamore fungus?
The fungus survives in fallen leaves in the winter, and spores spread to other trees through wind and rain. One way to help prevent the spread of the fungus is to thoroughly dispose of dead leaves. Here are a few other ways to help treat the disease: Prune off infected, dead branches.
How to treat anthracnose in leaves?
Spray a fungicide to prevent the leaves from becoming infected. Plant trees that are resistant to the disease. Leaf disease control sprays can effectively treat anthracnose in leaves; however, once the disease spreads to the branches of the tree, expensive tree injections are the best way to treat it.
Why do sycamore leaves turn black?
Because anthracnose prefers damp, cool conditions, the disease generally starts to show on sycamore leaves in the spring. In addition to the damage that shows on the tree leaves, anthracnose may cause cankers (dead bark that looks like a sore) and black fungal growths on branches.
What do sycamore bugs eat?
After hatching, sycamore plant bug larvae feed on tree leaves, creating holes that eventually cause the leaves to look skeletonized and fall off the tree early. Like their larvae, adult plant bugs also feed on sycamore tree leaves and cause similar damage to foliage. Usually, plant bugs go through only one generation per year ...
How to treat fungus on trees?
The fungus survives in fallen leaves in the winter, and spores spread to other trees through wind and rain. One way to help prevent the spread of the fungus is to thoroughly dispose of dead leaves. Here are a few other ways to help treat the disease: 1 Prune off infected, dead branches 2 Spray a fungicide to prevent the leaves from becoming infected 3 Plant trees that are resistant to the disease
How to get rid of plant bugs on a tree?
Pressure spray the tree with water to remove larvae (this is a mild solution—insect control sprays are more effective) Have a tree service company like Stewart’s treat the tree to help get rid of plant bug.
What diseases can sycamore trees get?
You’ll find that there are quite a few diseases of sycamore trees. The most dangerous of the diseases of sycamore trees is anthracnose, also called leaf and twig blight. It can kill American sycamore, although it does only minor damage to other varieties. This disease can kill twig tips, expanding to buds, new shoots, and leaves.
How do you know if a sycamore tree has a fungus?
The symptom you see most frequently is crinkling and browning of the leaves. This sycamore tree disease is most likely to strike when the weather is cool and wet. Spores from the fungus can be spread by rain and wind. If you give your trees sufficient water and fertilizer, you are unlikely to see this sycamore tree disease.
What is the name of the tree with the white, tan, and green bark?
Tall, fast growing, and durable, the sycamore tree —with its large, maple-like leaves—is an elegant addition to your backyard landscape. Its most recognizable feature is its bark that peels away as the trunk expands, revealing the white, tan, and green inner bark.
What causes leaf scorch on a tree?
It can be treated with fungicides. Bacterial leaf scorch can also be a problem. It is caused by Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterial pathogen that kills off entire branches of the tree. Pruning infected branches can slow its spread. Printer Friendly Version.
Can sycamore lace bugs be killed?
While the sycamore lace bug’s damage is rarely serious, a heavy infestation can slow the tree’s growth. Keep an eye on your tree leaves and wash off bugs with the hose. Insecticides are also available.
Can sycamore trees be pests?
Avoiding Problems with Sycamore Trees. Sycamore trees are vulnerable to diseases and insect pests, just like almost every variety of tree you can plant. Experts advise that you keep your tree healthy, with good cultural practices, as a first line of defense against problems with sycamore trees. Generally, the healthier and more vital the tree, ...
How tall is a sycamore tree?
The largest deciduous tree in the eastern United States, sycamore trees can grow 75 to 100 feet (23-30 m.) tall with a similar spread, and even taller under ideal conditions. The trunk may be as much as 10 feet (3 m.) in diameter. Sycamores have strong wood with several uses, but as the tree ages, a fungus attacks and consumes the heartwood.
What is the bark pattern of a sycamore tree?
The most striking feature of the tree is the bark that has a camouflage pattern comprised of gray-brown outer bark that peels off in patches to reveal the light gray or white wood beneath. Older trees often have solid, light gray trunks.
How big are sycamores?
Sycamores also go by the names buttonwood or buttonball trees. This comes from the 1 inch (2.5 cm.) balls that hang from the tree all winter and fall to the ground in spring. Each ball hangs on its own stringy 3 to 6 inch (8-15 cm.) twig.
How to keep a tree from drying out?
Water young trees deeply to keep the soil from drying out. After the first couple of years, the tree withstands moderate drought. It’s best to give the soil a deep soaking when you’ve gone a month or so without a drenching rain.
Do sycamore trees make good shade trees?
The enormous size of a sycamore tree makes it impractical for the average home landscape, but they make great shade trees in parks, along stream banks, and in other open areas. They were once used as street trees, but they create a lot of litter and the invasive roots damage sidewalks.
Do sycamore trees have wood?
Sycamores have strong wood with several uses, but as the tree ages, a fungus attacks and consumes the heartwood. The fungus doesn’t kill the tree, but it makes it weak and hollow. Wildlife benefit from hollow sycamore trees, using them as storage chambers for nuts, nesting sites, and shelter.
What causes soft rot in lettuce?
An example of this is the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause a weak, soft rot of plants such as lettuce. In people with compromised immune systems, this bacterium is known to infect the urinary tract, lungs, blood, and burns and other wounds.
What is the name of the fungus that causes a person to get a scratch?
This fungus can cause sporotrichosis, also called "rose-picker's disease", if it gets into a person's skin (such as through a scratch) and into the lymph system, or if a person inhales its spores. Symptoms of this disease in humans can include problems with the lungs, eyes, central nervous system, bones and joints.
Can fungi infect humans?
However, some plant pathogens may be able to infect humans as well as plants, and those that do tend to be "opportunistic pathogens," especially on a segment of the population at risk.
Can fungi cause ear rot?
For example, some fungi that cause ear rots on corn, such as Fusarium, produce "mycotoxins" (toxins produced by fungi).
Can aflatoxins cause cancer?
At lower levels of longer duration (chronic exposure), they can lead to cancer. Mycotoxins are generally an issue only on grain, not on common garden produce, and grain for human consumption is well monitored for their presence. ...
Can aeruginosa cause disease?
For most of us (and for most healthy plants), P. aeruginosa is not a concern. Sooty mold and flyspeck on apple fruit. Some fungi that live on decaying plants can cause disease in humans.
Sycamore Tree Care
Because it grows along streams in the wild, sycamore tolerates wet areas better than many trees. It also tolerates the air pollution often found in urban settings. But it's a high-maintenance plant, thanks to its messy seed pods, giving you the added work of having to rake the seed pods up and dispose of them.
Types of Sycamore Trees (Planetrees)
Platanus occidentalis is one of the parents (the other being Platanus orientalis ) of that popular hybrid, London planetree ( Platanus × acerifolia ). The species name refers to its maple-like foliage. Confusingly, there's a totally distinct plant called " sycamore maple " ( Acer pseudoplatanus) that gets its name from its resemblance to sycamore.
Pruning
For the most part, sycamore needs to be pruned only after limbs have been damaged. The damaged limbs should be pruned back to the collar. Dead or diseased branches should be pruned off whenever you spot them.
Propagating Sycamore Trees
Sycamore can be propagated by seed or by taking (softwood) cuttings, but, if your plant is a cultivar, your only means of propagating is by cuttings taken in early summer. Here’s how to propagate a sycamore cultivar via cuttings:
How to Grow Sycamore Tree From Seed
If your sycamore isn't a cultivar, you can grow it from seed, which comes from the pods.
Overwintering
American sycamore is a very hardy tree. No extra care is required to overwinter it. Besides that, it's actually quite stunning in winter. The bark in the upper canopy is white and the branches are geometric, both of which are usually obstructed before leaf drop.
Common Pests and Plant Diseases
Besides its messiness, sycamore causes headaches in other ways. It's prone to attacks from insects and diseases. American sycamore is one of many plants susceptible to aphid infestations. Aphids can invade any landscape, but they run especially rampant on landscapes where the use of chemicals has eliminated aphid predators.
