MDC crowns state champion American sycamore tree in Hannibal
(WorldNews Environment)

HANNIBAL, Mo. - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently crowned a new state champion American sycamore tree in Hannibal. MDC Forester David Vance presented the Missouri Champion Tree plaque to Linda Coleberd, who owns the land where the tree stands along Cave Hollow Drive at the Mark Twain Cave Complex. American Sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis) is native to Missouri, and noted for its fast growth, impressive stature, and unusual bark which sheds in thin plates to reveal distinctive white limbs. Sycamores attain the largest size of any...