Plane Tree

Plane Tree, common name for a plant family comprising a small group of large deciduous trees widely planted as ornamentals because of their quick growth and attractive scaly bark. The family contains only one genus, which in turn contains about seven species found throughout temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. The leaves are simple and palmately lobed, with the base of the petiole (leafstalk) swollen. The flowers are small and individually inconspicuous but are clustered into globose heads, or inflorescences. Separate male and female flowers occur on the same tree. The female flower clusters mature into globe-shaped structures that consist of many tightly packed separate fruits, each containing one seed.

The best-known and most widely distributed species is usually known as American sycamore, or buttonwood. Its natural range is throughout the eastern United States, with scattered populations in northern Mexico. Typically, it grows in wet, poorly drained soils along the floodplains of streams. Although the American sycamore is widely planted as a street tree, the London plane tree, a hybrid between the American sycamore and the Oriental plane tree, is more tolerant of urban conditions. It resembles the American sycamore, but its fruit clusters are borne in pairs rather than singly.

Scientific classification: Plane trees make up the family Platanaceae. The American sycamore is classified as Platanus occidentalis, the London plane tree as Platanus acerifolia, and the Oriental plane tree as Platanus orientalis.