PLATANUS OCCIDENTALS, L. Ill 



encircled by the leaf-scar. Leaves simple, alternate, 5-6 inches 

 long, 7-10 wide, pubescent on both sides when young, at 

 maturity light rusty -green above, light green beneath, finally 

 smooth, turning yellow in autumn, coriaceous ; outline reni- 

 form ; margin coarse-toothed or sinuate-lobed, the short lobes 

 ending in a sharp point ; base heart-shaped to nearly truncate ; 

 leafstalk 1-2 inches long, swollen at the base ; stipules sheath- 

 ing, often united, forming a sort pf ruffle. 



Inflorescence. May. In crowded spherical heads; flowers 

 of both kinds with insignificant calyx and corolla, sterile 

 heads from terminal or lateral buds of the preceding season, 

 on short and pendulous steins ; stamens few, usually 4, 

 anthers 2-celled : fertile heads from shoots of the season, on 

 long, slender stems, made up of closely compacted ovate 

 ovaries with intermingled scales, ovaries surmounted by hairy 

 one-sided recurved styles, with bright red stigmas. 



Fruit. In heads, mostly solitary, about 1 inch in diameter, 

 persistent till spring : nutlets small, hairy, 1 -seeded. 



Horticultural Value. Hardy throughout Xew England ; 

 prefers a deep, rich, loamy soil near water, but grows in 

 almost any situation ; of more rapid growth than almost any 

 other native tree, and formerly planted freely in ornamental 

 grounds and on streets, but fungous diseases disfigure it so 

 seriously, and the late frosts so often kill the young leaves 

 that it is now seldom obtainable in nurseries ; usually propa- 

 gated from seed. The European plane, now largely grown in 

 some nurseries, is a suitable substitute. 



Plate LVI. Platanus occidentalis. 



1. Winter buds. 



2. Flowering branch with sterile and fertile heads 



3. Stamen. 



4. Pistil. 



5. Fruiting branch. 



6. Stipule. 



7. Bud with enclosing base of leafstalk. 



