Wood Property Variation Among Forty-Eight Families of American Sycamore

American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.) progeny from forty-eight half-sib families representing five geographic seed sources were analyzed at the end of the fifth growing season for variation in wood properties and growth rate. Stem analysis revealed that specific gravity increased towards the top of the tree while fiber length first increased and then decreased as a function of height within the stem. Diameter, height, volume, specific gravity, fiber length, and moisture content showed significant differences between families. Height and moisture content were the only traits that did not exhibit significant variation due to seed source. Wood properties exhibited considerably less variation than did the growth parameters. However, wood properties did exhibit a larger component of variance due to family effects than did the growth parameters. Diameter, height, and volume were positively correlated with specific gravity and fiber length