DENDROLOGY. 



247 



The planer tree is of the second order, and is rarely more 

 than 35 or 40 feet high and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. The 

 leaves are about an inch and a half long, oval-acuminate, 

 denticulated, of a lively green color. Its bloom is early and not 

 conspicuous. Its minute seeds are contained in small, oval, 

 inflated, uneven capsules. 



The wood of this tree is hard, strong, and seemingly proper 

 for various uses : but it is rare and the wood is neglected. 



PLATANUS. 



Mon cecia Poly andria. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient. 



Buttonwood or Sycamore. Plat anus occidentalis. 



Among trees with decid- 

 uous leaves, none in the 

 temperate zones, either in 

 the Old or New Continent, 

 equal the dimensions of 

 the planes. The species 

 which we are about to des- 

 cribe is not less remarkable 

 for its amplitude, and for its 

 magnificent appearance than 

 the plane of Asia, whose 

 majestic form and extraor- 

 dinary size were so much 

 celebrated by the ancients. 

 In the Atlantic States this 

 tree is commonly known by 

 the name of Buttonwood, 

 and sometimes in Virginia, by that of Water Beach. On the 

 banks of the Ohio, and in the state of Kentucky and Tennessee, 

 it is most frequently called Sycamore, and by some persons 

 Plane Tree. The French of Canada and of Upper Louisiana 

 give it the name of Cotton Tree. The first of these denomina- 



PLATE LXIX. 

 Fiz. 1. A loaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



