The sycamore (Fig. 128) is one of the best-known trees in this country, and often grows to a great height. Its leaves (Fig. 33) are large and five-pointed, the main veins spreading from the top of the leaf stalk. When young they are of a beautiful red colour. In hot weather the leaves become very sticky with a sugary syrup called honey-dew. The sycamore is indeed a species of maple, and is closely related to the sugar maple of North America. In May, the flowers hang from the twigs in drooping green clusters. They contain [Pg 159] both stamens and pistils, and are visited by bees for the sake of the honey in which they abound. The fruits or keys (Figs. 137 and 4) occur in pairs, or sometimes three together. Each has a flat, membranous wing, by means of which it is easily transported by the wind. In Scotland the sycamore is often called the plane. The leaves of the plane and sycamore are somewhat similar in shape, but the trees belong to different families. The plane can be identified by its globular heads of flowers and subsequent balls of seeds, which hang on long stalks from the twigs. Fig. 129.—The Horse Chestnut. The horse chestnut.—The horse chestnut differs from all our other forest trees of equal size in bearing brilliantly coloured and [Pg 160] conspicuous flowers. The flowers are complete, containing not only stamens and pistil, but also a calyx and a beautiful pink or white corolla. The tree has a striking appearance at all seasons of the year. In winter, the thick twigs, the large terminal buds, and the opposite lateral buds already described on pp. 62-64 are very conspicuous, and give an instructive clue to the method of branching. The buds open early and the new shoots rapidly lengthen, so that the tree is a mass of foliage whilst most neighbouring trees are still bare. The leaves (Fig. 26) are compound, consisting of seven large, spoon-shaped leaflets which spring from a common point at the end of the leaf-stalk. The flowers open in May. The fruit is ripe in October and then falls to the ground, its prickly husk splitting into three parts to liberate the rounded seeds. The leaves fall early, leaving large scars (Fig. 38), which have some resemblance to the hoof-marks of a horse. 34. CONE-BEARING TREES. 1. The Scotch pine.—Notice the shape of the tree: the tall straight stem and rugged bark, and the dark tufts of foliage. Does the tree bear leaves all the year round? Does it ever shed its leaves? Are they shed at any special time of the year? Examine a leafy twig; observe that the leaves are needle-shaped and come off in pairs. At the apex is a terminal bud which will continue the length of the twig next season; the lateral buds below will grow out into twigs at the same time. Try to make out which parts of the twig grew during last year, and which during the two previous years.