Big Sycamores

 

American sycamore, Green Spring / Levels, WV

Hampshire County is loaded with big sycamore trees (Platanus occidentalis).  Even small sycamores seem to have unusually large leaves, but even after many years we sometimes find leaves that are still impressive.  Of course, big green leaves mean there's more chlorophyll by which to convert sunlight to carbohydrates that make these trees grow fast and large.  So like most things in nature, their are both obvious and not so obvious correlations and causation among observable phenomena.

Frost in the shaded spots

As we walked along our normal trails through and around the wetlands we could see the effect of the sunlight on the frost, even though it was still below 0 C.