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Platanus ×hispanica

London plane

Hybrid plane

Blätter und Frucht (CC BY-SA 3.0) Liné1

Short Description

The London plane is deciduous (loses its leaves seasonally) with an expansive crown. It can grow up to 35 m tall.

The leaves are large and palmate lobed with three to five pointed lobes. They are coarsely indented and grow alternately on the branches.

The trunk is generally short and thick. The bark is grey to yellowish-brown with irregular flaky patches. These give the trunk a mottled appearance.

The spherical inflorescences have a long stalk and consist of numerous individual florets that are greenish in colour. The elongated stamens and stigmas are generally reddish in colour.

The fruits are cone-shaped hairy seeds. They are clustered in large hanging seed balls.

Features

London plane

Platanus ×hispanica

  • mottled trunk

  • large, hanging spherical flower clusters

Similar species

Sycamore

Acer pseudoplatanus
The leaves of the sycamore maple are arranged in opposite pairs on the branch. The wings of the nut fruits are arranged at an acute angle to each other.

Norway maple

Acer platanoides
The leaves of the Norway maple are arranged in opposite pairs on the branch and the leaf margins are sharply serrated. The wings of the nut fruits are arranged at an obtuse angle to each other.

Silver maple

Acer saccharinum
The leaves of the sycamore maple are arranged in opposite pairs on the branch. The underside of the leaves is silver-grey. The wings of the nut fruits are arranged at an obtuse angle to each other.
Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Tivadar Nemesi

In the city

The London plane is very resilient and thus very popular for tree-lined urban roads. It prefers moderately moist, light and wind-protected sites.

Fun Facts

  • It is pollinated by wind, same as the dissemination of its fruits with their distinctive “parachutes”.

  • It flowers from May to June.

  • The fruit ripening season is in September to October.

  • None

  • It probably originated as a hybrid of Platanus orientalis (Middle East) and Platanus occidentalis (North America) in southern Europe or England in the mid-17th century.

Rinde (CC BY-SA 3.0) Liné1

Sources

Blätter und Frucht, Liné1, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platanus_x_acerifolia_fruit_01_by_Line1.jpg

Habitus, Tivadar Nemesi, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platane-Platanus_x_acerifolia-1._9-4-B.jpg

Rinde, Liné1, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platanus_%C3%97_acerifolia_02_by_Line2.JPG

Aas, G. & Riedmiller, A. (2002) Laubbäume. Bestimmen – Kennenlernen – Schützen, Bindlach: Gondrom Verlag.

Amann, G. & Richter, P. (1962) Bäume und Sträucher des Waldes, Melsungen: Verlag J. Neumann – Neudamm.

Böhlmann, D. (2015) Laubbäume temperierter Klimate mit ihrer Artenvielfalt, Berlin: Patzer Verlag.

Mitchell, A. (1975) Die Wald- und Parkbäume Europas. Ein Bestimmungsbuch, Hamburg und Berlin: Verlag Paul Parey.

Roloff, A. (2013) Bäume in der Stadt. Besonderheiten - Funktion - Nutzen - Arten - Risiken, Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.

Page „Ahornblättrige Platane“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 22.02.2016, 08:54 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ahornbl%C3%A4ttrige_Platane&oldid=151777846 (Accessed: 18.05.2016).