SPRING-FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 



G3 



{Acer pseiido-platanus — order Aceracece), although not really a 

 British tree, has probably found a home here for nearly five cen- 

 turies. It has been named the False Plane on account of its having 

 been mistaken for, and called, the Plane, which tree it somewhat 

 resembles in the form of the leaf, as well as in the character of the 

 smooth, thin bark that peels off, giving the tree a patchy appear- 

 ance. It should be noted, however, that the leaves of the Plane are 

 arranged alternately, while those of the Sycamore are in opposite 



THE SpnsT)LE Tree. 



pairs ; also that the fruits of the former are in pendulous balls 

 while those of the latter are winged, and generally in two parts. 



The Sycamore grows to a height of from forty to fifty feet 

 and flowers in May or early June, some time after the appearance 

 of the leaves. The leaves are simple and cut into five lobes, with a 

 palmate venation and irregularly toothed margins. The flowers 

 are small, yellowish green, and produced in graceful, pendulous 

 racemes. Each one is about a quarter of an inch in diameter, 

 with five narrow sepals, five narrower petals, eight stamens, and a 

 two-lobed, flattened, hairy ovary which develops into a pair of 

 * keys ' or samaras, with wings about an inch and a half long. 



The Maple {Acer campestre) is a much smaller tree, with a very 



