Sycamore

Parts Usually Used

Bark

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Sycamore maple is a large deciduous tree; it grows as high as 100 feet, and its spreading branches bear opposite, 5 lobed, coarsely crenate-serrate leaves which resemble those of the sycamore tree. The leaves are dark green on top, pale and whitish beneath. The yellowish-green flowers grow in hanging racemes, producing eventually the winged fruit characteristic of the maples.

Where Found

Found in mountainous and upland areas of Europe and western Asia and cultivated to some extent in the United States.

Medicinal Properties

Astringent, vulnerary

Legends, Myths and Stories

This tree has characteristics of the sycamore but it is a maple tree. Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) grows to 150 feet with bark that is mottled, multi-colored, and peeling. Fruits are globular.

Uses

Historically, herbalists valued the bark for its mild astringent properties, preparing it as a wash for skin conditions and as an eyewash for sore eyes. Traditional practitioners also applied the tree's inner bark, which contained sweet sap, as a topical dressing for wounds.

Bibliography

American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974