The Irvington Sycamore
United StatesPortlandIrvington
The city's note on this tree reads, in full, "Big 13'". That is the entire official record, written by whoever measured it in 1999, and it is not wrong: thirteen feet is 3.9 metres round, under a crown twenty six metres across. American sycamore is the parent that gave the London plane its constitution, and side by side the difference is legible. Sycamore sheds bark higher and harder, so the upper limbs go bone white, and from a distance an old one looks as though someone has painted the top half. The leaves are broader and shallower lobed than the hybrid's, and the seed balls hang singly rather than in pairs, which is the field mark worth remembering. It is the eastern end of the Irvington heritage cluster. From here the catalpas are a block north, the elm and the planes are six blocks west, and the wingnut line closes the walk at NE 15th, which is about a kilometre and a half all told.
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
2524 NE 25th Avenue, IrvingtonA big plane-like tree with strikingly white upper limbs and single hanging seed balls.
Free. Street tree on the public right of way.
NE 25th Avenue at Thompson, Irvington. Bus 8, then six blocks east.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
- In the official register: City of Portland Heritage Trees (Portland Parks & Recreation), no. 212
- portland.gov
- City of Portland, Oregon: Heritage Trees (Bureau of Parks and Recreation, Heritage Tree ordinance), no. 212