 In its native range , the sycamore is a natural component of birch ( Betula sp . ) , beech ( Fagus sp . ) and fir ( Abies sp . ) forests . It readily invades disturbed habitats such as forest plantations , abandoned farmland and brownfield land , railway lines and roadsides verges , hedgerows , native and semi @-@ natural woodland and , in New Zealand , high country tussock grassland . As an introduced , invasive species it may degrade the laurel forest in Madeira and Portugal and is a potential threat to the rare endemic Madeiran orchid , Dactylorhiza foliosa . 
