I think those Sycamore trees are Plane trees, but their botanical history is about as messy they are.

Well I'll be damned, the Sycamore and the Plane tree are not related. I wonder if we have Plane trees over here and I just assumed they were Sycamores.
And the Sycamore is a Maple! I think I need to lie down. :smack:

We saw some big Sycamores at the Trexler Nature Reserve over the weekend but I brought neither camera nor phone so trust me.

Nice pics!

I read somewhere years ago that a London plane tree is a cross between a maple and a sycamore. And that sycamores and maples are related. Was I misinformed?

Sycamores are maples, which are the Acer genus, whereas Planes are the genus Platanus, so they are not directly related. Also if you go up to the Family name they are different, Planes are the Platanaceae Family, maples are the Aceraceae Family.

From my copy of Collins British Trees:

Thank you!

That looks like a maple leaf.