A few years ago, I spent an hour or so wandering around some alleyways downtown as I waited for my car to be repaired. I was interested in seeing what would grow in an inhospitable environment such as this. In one area where there was absolutely nothing but concrete. Yet on a closer look, I did see a foot high maple sapling growing from a crack. Impressive! It was a Sycamore Maple.

The word pseudoplatanus tells us that it is a maple which has resembles a false plane-tree. 

The bark of the plane-tree is pale grey-green pale and exfoliating.

The mature bark of Sycamore Maple looks a bit this way which leads to the  word pseudoplatanus.

Young bark is smooth and almost silver in colour:

Close examination shows the beginning of exfoliation:

While exploring the Scarborough Bluffs near Glen Everest Road, I found many young Sycamore Maples which have likely spread into the wild areas from local planted trees.

Sycamore Maples have been introduced from Europe and are a large tree which is often planted as a shade tree in southern Canada.

The leaves are 6 – 14 cm long, about as wide, 5-lobed and single toothed:

Like all maples, the branches and buds are opposite to each other:

The buds are greenish with dark margins.

Miles Hearn