Plane-courtesy Wikipedia.
The two main species of Plane are the oriental Plane from southern Europe & the occidental Plane from North America. There are not many points of difference between them. They are both large trees with a single straight trunk & spreading angular branches. The smooth grey bark is continually scaling off in large patches during the winter, revealing fresh pale bark underneath. The leaves are large & palmate ( shaped like a hand with five lobes or fingers ). The flowers are of distinct sexes, booth growing on the same tree.. Neither kind has petals, but are both in the form of round balls which hang in strings of two or three on a long stem. The balls of female flowers, which later contain the seeds , remain hanging on the tree all the winter. The Plane retains its foliage till late in the year & assumes autumnal tints of brown & gold. The Planes that abound in the streets & squares of London are a variety called maple-leaved plane, said to be a cross between the two first-named species.
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