Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore, "Seiyokajikaede")

Japanese name: セイヨウカジカエデ
Scientific name: Acer pseudoplatanus

[Overview]
A deciduous tree up to 35 m tall with a trunk up to 2 m in diameter.
The crown is round.
The bark is gray and smooth when young, but on mature trees it peels off irregularly in plates.
The leaves are simple and opposite, about 10–25 cm long and wide, shallowly palmately 5-lobed, with irregular coarse teeth on the margin.
They are leathery and dark green, and turn yellow in autumn.
There are hairs on the veins on the underside of the leaves.
The petiole is red and 5–15 cm long.
The flowers are borne 20–50 per compound raceme 10–20 cm long arising from the leaf axils, with male flowers and bisexual flowers blooming on the same tree.
The flowers are yellowish green, with 5 sepals and 5 petals.
The fruits are borne in pairs, each with a propeller-like wing 20–40 mm long, and the wings spread at an acute angle.

[Uses]
The wood is used for musical instruments, furniture, flooring and firewood, and in particular as the top plate of high-quality violins and guitars such as Stradivarius violins.
The sap is the raw material for maple syrup and maple sugar.
As a honey source tree, it also yields honey.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers a well-drained place in partial shade to full sun.
Partial shade is better, especially while the tree is young.
In shade, the yellow autumn color develops poorly.
It tolerates salt, drought and shade.
Longhorn beetles and aphids cause damage, so kill them as soon as they are found.

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