Platanus occidentalis L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Platanaceae

• Scientific Name

  Platanus occidentalis L.

• Description

  Species Description - Tree to 50 m, the trunk to 3 m thick, with pale greenish-gray to nearly white, exfoliating bark; lvs mostly reniform in outline, broadly 3–5 lobed, sharply serrate; stipules foliaceous, toothed or lobed; heads solitary, long-peduncled, 2.5–3 cm thick in fr; achenes 7–8 mm, nearly equaled by the subtending hairs; 2n=42. Moist or wet, alluvial soil; sw. Me. to s. Mich. and se. Minn., s. to Fla. and Tex.

• Discussion

  P. ×hybrida Brot., the London plane, a fertile putative hybrid of P. occidentalis and P. orientalis L., is widely planted as a street-tree and occasionally escapes. It typically has 2 heads per infl, and the lvs are often more truncate or broadly cuneate at the base; 2n=42. (P. ×acerifolia)

• Common Names

  sycamore, buttonwood