Plant Database
Roberts' Western Sycamore
Platanus racemosa ‘Roberts’
The Roberts'California Plane, Western Sycamore is a superior selected form of California's iconic native sycamore, celebrated for its deeply lobed, lush foliage and spectacularly mottled bark. This fast-growing deciduous tree offers the rugged beauty and environmental adaptability of the species, refined with deeper leaf cuts and more dramatic bark exfoliation. Its dense canopy of large, coarse-textured, bright green leaves creates excellent shade throughout the warm season. The true spectacle, however, is the bark: a constantly peeling mosaic of creamy white, pale gray, soft green, and rich brown that provides stunning winter interest. Often developing multiple, gracefully twisted trunks, it embodies the sculptural spirit of California's riparian woodlands in a garden-sized package.