Sycamore maple

Sapindaceae / Acer pseudoplatanus – sycamore maple

This is one of the most iconic leaf shapes, and most people would definitely recognize it as a maple leaf. And yet the name pseudoplatanus implies that this is an imposter and a knock-off of the plane tree (Platanus). Who’s naming these trees? This is no pseudo tree. Sure, the leaves of this tree do have the same shape as that of a plane tree, but the resemblance stops there. To be fair, the London plane tree’s botanical / scientific name is Platanus ✕ acerifolia, which tells it has the leaves of a sycamore maple.

The dark green leaf color is contrasted by red leaf stalks, and makes this a very healthy looking tree. Maples create copious amounts of winged fruits called samaras. At the time of capture, the samaras were still small and just forming. This package is made up of 6 twigs, one of them boasts a cluster of samaras.