the.com/sycamore
the tree that sheds its bark like a snake outgrowing its own skin
means A large shade tree (of which several distinct species exist, from the fig-like Middle Eastern tree to the North American plane tree) known for its broad leaves and flaking, patchy bark.
from From Greek 'sykomoros,' a compound of 'sykon' (fig) and 'moron' (mulberry), describing a tree whose fruit and leaves recalled both — this was the fig-mulberry of the eastern Mediterranean. It traveled through Latin 'sycomorus' and Old French before reaching English. Confusingly, the name later got applied to entirely unrelated trees: the maple-like sycamore of Europe and the plane tree of North America, so today 'sycamore' points to different species depending on where you're standing.
- camo trunk
- Peeling bark leaves a mottled white, green, gray patchwork
- giant lungs
- Among the largest trees in eastern North America
- hollow giants
- Old trunks rot hollow, big enough to shelter people
- ball season
- Spiky seed clusters dangle all winter like ornaments
- name confusion
- Three unrelated trees worldwide share the sycamore name
buttonwood tree new york — american sycamore under which the sons of liberty met in 1765 on the bowling green
sycamore gap hadrian's wall — 3,500-year-old sycamore tree in northumberland, england, became famous after appearing in the 1991 film robin hood: prince of thieves