These are green for most of the year before turning brown at maturity. Sycamore trees produce seed balls filled with tightly-compacted, fuzzy seeds. This gives sycamore tree trunks a unique camouflage appearance. They have a thin, papery bark that often flakes away, revealing patches of white, yellow, gray, and tan. What’s more, they are arranged alternately on stems, while maple leaves have an opposite arrangement.Īside from these minor differences, sycamore trees have other features that set them apart from maples. Though the leaves are very similar in shape and appearance, they are generally larger than maple leaves. The leaves also tend to turn bright yellow or yellow-brown in the fall. The leaves appear very similar to maple leaves, as they are palmate and divided into three to five lobes. Sycamores are commonly confused with maples because of their leaves. Though some maples can also grow this large, many maple species are smaller. Sycamore trees grow quite large, up to 130 feet. There are about six species of sycamore, and they are sometimes called plane trees. Sycamore trees can be found throughout the world and are extremely common in North America. So, despite similarities in appearance, there are definite ways to tell sweetgum trees apart from maples–as long as you know what you are looking for. This sap is quite different from the large amounts of liquid, clear sap which maple trees are known for producing.
When cut or damaged, sweetgum trees release a sticky, resinous sap–hence their name. While maples release winged seed pods known as samaras, sweetgum trees produce hard, prickly, woody seed capsules sometimes known as “gumballs”. One thing that sets sweetgum trees apart from maples is the fruit they produce.
The leaves turn even brighter colors in the fall, like maples do. It is these leaves, along with their furrowed bark and tall stature, that give sweetgum trees a similar appearance to maple trees.ĭepending on the species, sweetgum trees may have green, red, yellow, or purple leaves. These trees have star-shaped, palmate leaves, each with five to seven lobes. They are known by many common names, including redgum trees, satin-walnut trees, and gum trees. There are 15 species of sweetgum trees found in North America, Europe, and Asia.