Scientific Name:
Platanus orientalis
Pronunciation:
PLAT-an-us or-ee-un-TAY-liss
Common Name:
oriental plane tree, oriental sycamore
Family Name:
Platanaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves maple-like but alternate, 5 major lobes with lobe sinuses and teeth more pronounced than in London plane; florets green-red, in pendulous 2cm round spheres, mostly 2-4 per peduncle. Winter ID: fruit like a 2-3cm wide fuzzy ball with achenes shedding off; buds red, smooth, 5mm long; bark exfoliating, looks like army camouflage; branches zig-zag.
Habit:
Irregular, Open, Spreading
Form:
Columnar, Round
Texture:
Coarse
Mature Height:
22 - 30m
Mature Spread:
15 - 25m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Central / west Asia, Europe, South Asia / India
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 7: (-18 to -12 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Shade tree, Specimen plant, Street (boulevard tree)
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple, Lobed
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Palmate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Fall:
Yellow, Brown
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Cordate, Truncate
Margins:
Dentate, Palmately lobed
Inflorescence Type:
Spike, Head-like
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Number Of Petals:
0
Colour (petals):
Showy, Green, Red
Flower Time at Peak:
May
Fruit Type:
Achene, Multiple fruit
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Not showy, Round cluster of achenes with sterile seed (locally, these balls may fall off the tree as a unit so they can also be considered a multiple fruit)
Bark Morphology:
Showy, Exfoliating, Smooth
Bark or Stem Colour:
White, Grey, Olive, Tan
Leaf Bud Type:
Ovoid
Propagation:
Seed, Hardwood cuttings
Pest Susceptibility:
Anthracnose, Canker or sap rot, Caterpillar or cutworm, Fungal leaf spot, Mildew, Mites, Stem borer insects (Deer resistant)
