STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 319 



It relieves wind in the stomacli and dissipates tumors beyond belief, it aids 

 digestion, strengtliens the belly, heals uterine affections, and others similar to 

 those, either aloue or mixed with other drugs. There are some who prepare 

 a kind of balsam from the twigs steeped in water, but this is meaner and less 

 suitable for the aforesaid remedies, and not fit for any except the meaner 

 uses." 



58. PLATANACEAE. Plane-tree Family. 

 Reference: Gleason, N. Anier. PI. 22: 227-229. 1908. 



1. PL AT ANUS L. Sp. PI. 999. 1753. 

 Large trees with thin peeling bark ; pubescence of stellate hairs ; leaves alter- 

 nate, long-petiolate, palmately nerved, dentate or lobate, with large stipules ; 

 flowers small, green, unisexual, monoecious, in large dense globose heads ; 

 sepals 3 or 4 ; petals small, alternate with the sepals ; stamens alternate with 

 the petals ; fruit of nutlets, each surrounded by stiff erect hairs. 



The siwcies of this genus are known by the English names of " buttonwood," 

 " sycamore," and " plane-tree." They are excellent shade trees and especially 

 to -be reconmiended for street planting. They are little attacked by insects 

 and usually have broad crowns, with tough branches not easily broken by the 

 wind. The native species are planted as shade trees in Mexico. 

 Heads 1 or 2 or rarely 3 on each peduncle, sessile. 



Leaves whitish-tomentose beneath 1. P. mexicana. 



Leaves green and glabrate beneath 2. P. g-labrata. 



Heads 3 to 6 on each peduncle. 



leaves with 5 deep narrow lobes, truncate or often deeply cordate at the 

 base. 

 Heads slender-stalked ; leaves rather closely grayish-tomentose at first but 



soon glabrate 3. P. wrigMii. 



Heads sessile or on very short stalks ; leaves loosely yellow-tomentose. 



4. P. racemosa. 

 I.<eaves not lobed, or with 3 lobes, or rarely with 2 very small additional 

 lobes, these often very shallow. 



Heads stalked 5. P. chiapensis. 



Heads sessile. 



Leaves rounded and conspicuously decurrent at base, loosely white- 



tomentose beneath the lobes usually entire 6. P. lindeniana. 



Leaves truncate or subcordate at base, scarcely or not at all decurrent, 

 with a very close sparse tomentum beneath, not whitish, the lobes 

 coarsely dentate 7. P. oaxacana. 



1. Platanus mexicana Moric. PI. Amer. Rar. 12. 1830. 



Along watercourses, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, San Luis PotosI, and Veracruz. 



Large tree, 15 to 20 meters high, the trunk 1.5 meters in diameter, with broad 

 crown ; leaves long-petiolate, 7 to 20 cm. wide, with 5 or more«acuminate lobes ; 

 fruit heads brownish, about 3 cm. in diameter. "Aya" (Veracruz, Schiede) ; 

 "alamo" (Tamaulipas, Veracruz) ; "alamo bianco" (San Luis Potosf, Nuevo 

 Leon, Tamaulipas). 



Sometimes planted as a shade tree. The wood is used for general car- 

 penter work and for dishes and spoons. 



2. Platanus glabrata Fernald, Proc. Amer. Acad. 36: 493. 1901. 



Coahuila, Nuevo Le6n, and San Luis PotosI; type from Monclova, Coahuila. 

 Leaves 5 to 20 cm. wide, usually green on both surfaces, acutely lobed and 

 dentate. "Alamo" (San Luis PotosI). 



