Among the finest foreign sorts is the Norway maple (A. platanoides), with leaves intermediate in appearance between those of the plane tree and Sugar maple. The bark of the trunk is brown, and rougher in appearance than our maples, and the tree is more loose and spreading in its growth; it also grows more rapidly, and strongly resembles at a little distance, the button-wood in its young state. Another interesting species is the sycamore tree or Great maple (A. pseudo-platanus). The latter also considerably resembles the plane; but the leaves, like those of the common maple, are smoother. They are five-lobed, acute in the divisions, and are placed on much longer petioles than those of most of the species. The flowers, strung in clusters like those of the common currant, are greenish in color. It is much esteemed as a shade-tree in Scotland and some parts of the Continent, and grows with vigor, producing a large head, and widely spreading branches.
