Sycamore maple

About

Sycamore maple is the most "mountainous" of our maples and a tree well-known in Ukrainian songs. In Ukraine, it is most commonly found in Galicia and Transcarpathia, becoming rarer east of the Zbruch River. In the Carpathians, sycamore maple grows as a mixture in beech, beech-fir, and mixed forests on slopes, and in some places, it forms pure sycamore maple stands.

This large deciduous tree reaches a height of 20–35 m and can live up to 500 years. The leaves are large, palmately lobed, with long petioles. The young bark is smooth and gray, while on older trees, it peels off in scales, revealing light brown and pink spots underneath. Sycamore maple flowers in May with hanging yellow-green clusters, after the leaves have already unfurled, and in autumn, paired samaras mature, which spin as they fly away from the tree.

Sycamore maple has a wide range of altitudes and occurs at almost all forest elevation levels. In the mountains, it often rises higher than beech and reaches heights where spruce grows, behaving like a true pioneer among deciduous trees at mountain and subalpine elevations. Some rare sycamore maple communities are listed in the Green Book of Ukraine.

Sycamore maple is not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Its name is the origin of male names, surnames, and the names of many villages in Galicia and Transcarpathia.

Where in the Carpathians

The map shows where naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY records), not every place it lives. The Ukrainian Carpathians are less studied, so a blank area does not mean the species is absent.

Countries

Slovakia · Czechia · Ukraine · Poland · Hungary · Romania · Austria · Serbia

Mountain ranges

Slovak Ore Mountains, Strážov Mountains, Greater Fatra, Moravian-Silesian Beskids, Lesser Fatra, Low Tatras, White Carpathians, Volovec Mountains, Bieszczady, Slovak Central Mountains

Altitude belts

Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Safety

The seeds and young shoots of sycamore maple can cause severe, often fatal muscle disease (atypical myopathy) in horses. If you graze horses, do not let them into areas where there are many samaras and seedlings under sycamore maples.

Protection and rules

Not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine; rare sycamore maple communities are included in the Green Book of Ukraine.

Red Data Book of Ukraine

FAQ