The Betsey Williams Sycamore, a beloved icon of Roger Williams Park and the most famous tree in Rhode Island, is estimated to be about 250 years old and was planted shortly after the cottage was built in 1773. An American Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, it is one of the largest tree species in the eastern United States and is distinguished by exfoliating bark that turns white in the upper canopy. Wooden tree braces supporting the branch were made from black locust collected from the park and were built and installed by Kurato Fujimoto, a master gardener from Kanazawa, Japan, assisted by the Providence Parks' Forestry Division. These traditional Japanese tree brace supports are called hoozue. The tree has long responded to anthracnose, a common foliar fungal disease that turns its leaves brown and causes them to drop, by growing new leaves in early July.
