Sycamore trees make wonderful shade trees for large landscapes. The most striking feature of the tree is the bark that has a camouflage pattern comprised of gray-brown outer bark that peels off in patches to reveal the light gray or white wood beneath. Older trees often have solid, light gray trunks. Sycamores also go by the names buttonwood or buttonball trees. This comes from the 1-inch balls that hang from the tree all winter and fall to the ground in spring.