
Platanus occidentalis
American Sycamore
Lancaster General Health Campus, Rohrerstown Road & Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster PA
Beth Zimmerman
This tree was nominated for its "visual impact," and it has that in spades. Be- cause of its relative isolation at the edge of a long expanse of grassy field, the tree's size can be underapprecia- ted until one walks right up to it. With a trunk circumference of 22 feet, a height of about 80 feet, and a spread of about 60, this tree is larger than all but three sycamores listed for Lancas- ter County at Champion Trees of Pennsylvania (pabigtrees.com).
This amazing species, with its massive trunk and durable wood that is easily worked, was considered ideal by Na- tive Americans for dugout canoes.




