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The Massachusetts Medical Society Grounds Hippocratic Oath Sycamore A member of the MMS, David R. Jackson, MD, has given the Society a young sycamore tree alleged to be an authentic direct-offspring of a sycamore growing on the Greek island of Kos. According to legend, Hippocrates spent hours under the tree teaching medicine to his students. The
sycamore, Plantanus occidentalis, is one of the tallest of the native
The tree is monoecious, meaning that it has male and female flowers on the same plant. The male flowers are yellow-green and the female flowers, which grow on the older branches, are rust to dark red. The fruit, a brown ball 1" in diameter composed of many narrow nutlets with hairy tufts, matures in autumn and hangs on the tree throughout the winter. The sycamore is a long-lived tree reaching 500 years of age. After 200-300 years, however, the trunk becomes hollow. It is interesting to note that in Colonial times there were specimens of such enormous proportions that the hollow trunk could hold up to 40 men.
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eastern North American deciduous trees. It grows 75-100 feet tall and
prefers deep, moist soil. The leaves are 4-8" long and wide and
look similar to large maple leaves. The sycamore is remarkably resistant
to air pollution and its great size makes it a popular shade tree.
The bark is distinctive, peeling off in flakes exposing camouflage-colored
patches.