Norway maple

Sycamore

Lookalikes

Norway maple or sycamore?

Both are big five-lobed maples with paired keys.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the leaf edge. Norway maple: a few long teeth drawn out to fine hairs. Sycamore: many coarse teeth, blunt at the tip. No leaves on the tree? Check the winter bud.

At a glance

Look at	Norway maple	Sycamore
Leaf edge	A few long teeth drawn out to fine hairs	Many coarse teeth, blunt at the tip
Winter bud	Broad, shiny and reddish brown	Big, green and egg-shaped
Angle of a pair	Wings nearly in a straight line	Wings in a V, at a right angle or narrower
Older trunk	A close, even net of small pale grey ridges	Small pale grey plates lifting at one edge
Flowers, and when	Upright heads, March or April, just before the leaves	Narrow hanging tails, as the leaves open

Five ways to tell them apart

Leaf edgeLeaves

Norway maple: leaf edge — Norway mapleA few long teeth drawn out to fine hairs

Sycamore: leaf edge — SycamoreMany coarse teeth, blunt at the tip

Winter budTwigs and buds

Norway maple: winter bud — Norway mapleBroad, shiny and reddish brown

Sycamore: winter bud — SycamoreBig, green and egg-shaped

Angle of a pairKeys

Norway maple: angle of a pair — Norway mapleWings nearly in a straight line

Sycamore: angle of a pair — SycamoreWings in a V, at a right angle or narrower

Older trunkBark

Norway maple: older trunk — Norway mapleA close, even net of small pale grey ridges

Sycamore: older trunk — SycamoreSmall pale grey plates lifting at one edge

Flowers, and whenFlowers

Norway maple: flowers, and when — Norway mapleUpright heads, March or April, just before the leaves

Sycamore: flowers, and when — SycamoreNarrow hanging tails, as the leaves open

Think you can tell them apart now? Try the tree quiz: real photographs, and what gives each tree away.Take the quiz

The two trees

Norway maple

Acer platanoides

Norway maple grows into a neat dome. Its leaves have a few long teeth drawn out into fine hairs, and acid yellow flowers cover the crown in March or April, just before the leaves.

How to identify Norway maple →

Sycamore

Acer pseudoplatanus

Sycamore grows into a huge, heavy dome. Its large leaves have five lobes edged with coarse, blunt teeth, and its paired keys hang with their wings set at a right angle or narrower.

How to identify sycamore →

Their other lookalikes

Norway maple or Japanese maple?Quickest check: the leaf edge

Norway maple or London plane?Quickest check: how the leaves sit

Sycamore or common ash?Quickest check: the whole leaf

Sycamore or field maple?Quickest check: the lobes and their teeth

Sycamore or horse chestnut?Quickest check: the parts of one leaf

Sycamore or Japanese maple?Quickest check: the leaf edge

Sycamore or London plane?Quickest check: how the leaves sit

In the app

See them side by side in Treely

Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them

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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), pete_gateley (CC0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), jcollatz (CC0), Yves Bas (CC BY 4.0), Katja Schulz (CC BY 4.0), friendsofdrpep (CC BY 4.0), Jason Grant (CC BY 4.0), Nick Butcher (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.