CHAP. XXII. ^CERA CE-fli. ^fCER. 409 



sized deciduous tree, a native of Europe, from Norway to Switzerland, and 



also of North America, but not of Britain, flowering in May and June. 



Introduced in 1683. Height from 40 ft. to 70 ft. 



Description. A handsome tree of the first rank ; in general appearance, at 

 a distance, like the common sycamore ; but, on a nearer approach, the leaves 

 are found of a smoother and finer texture. The roots extend considerably both 

 downwards and laterally. The trunk is somewhat shorter than that of the syca- 

 more, seldom exceeding 60 ft. or 70 ft. in height. The bark is green on the young 

 shoots, but it afterwards becomes of a reddish brown, dotted with white points : 

 that of the trunk is brown, and rather cracked. The buds are large and red 

 in autumn, becoming of a still darker red in the course of the winter : those 

 on the points of the shoots are always the largest. The leaves are thin, 

 green on both sides, and shining. When the petiole is broken an acrid milky 

 sap issues from it, which coagulates with the air. The leaves are about 5 in. 

 long, and nearly the same in width. The petioles are longer than the leaves. 

 About the end of October, the leaves become either of a clear or a yellowish 

 red, and then drop off. The flowers appear just before the leaves, near the end 

 of April : they form a short raceme, somewhat corymbose. The fruits, or 

 keys, have their wings yellow. They ripen in September and October; and 

 it is not till the tree has attained the age of nearly 40 years that it produces 

 fertile seeds, though it will flower many years before that period. The rate of 

 growth of this species is considerable. In France, a plant has been known to 

 attain the height of 12 ft. in three years from the seed. In England, when once 

 established, it produces shoots from 18 in. to 3 ft. long every year, till it at- 

 tains the height of 20 ft. or 30 ft. ; which, in favourable situations, it does in 

 10 years. 



Varieties. 



% A. p. 2 Lobelii. LobeVs Platanus-like Maple. 



Synonymes. A. Lobel« Tenore ; A. platano'ldes Don's Mill., 1. p. 649. 

 Engraving. Our fig. 120. in p. 441. 



Description. The leaves are very slightly heart-shaped, irregularly 

 toothed, 5-lobed, with the lobes more or less abruptly pointed. 

 The bark of the young wood striped, somewhat in the manner of 

 thatof A. striatum ; by which circumstance the plant, in a young state, 

 is readily distinguished from A. /;latanoides. A large tree, native 

 of the kingdom of Naples, and found on mountains. The general 

 appearance is said to be that of A. £>latanoides, of which it 

 seems to us to be only a variety. We have seen small plants of 

 this sort in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, and in one or two 

 of the nurseries. These were imported from Messrs. Booth, nur- 

 serymen, Hamburg. They appear to be grafted on A. jolatanoides. 



jf A. p. Spube'sccns Hayne. The doivny-]eavet\ Plalanus-likc Maple. — Leaves downy on the 

 under side. This variety appears to be found in Germany; but we have not seen it in 

 England. 



¥ A. p. 4 variegation Hort., dlbo variegation Hajne. The silvery variegated' 

 leaved Platanus-like Maple. — According to the figure in Schmidt's 

 Baumzucht, the foliage of this variety is beautifully marked, and 

 very handsome; but we have never seen it in Britain in a state to 

 warrant us in recommending it for cultivation. From several spe- 

 cimens which we have seen, we consider it as decidedly inferior in 

 beauty to the variegated sycamore. 



% A. p. 5 aureo variegatum, the golden variegatcd-lcavcd Plalanus-likc Maple, is described in 

 books, but we nave never seen a plant of it. 



3f A. p. 6 lacinidtion Dec. The cut-leaved Platanus-like Maple, {fig 121. in 

 p. 445.) — A very distinct variety, with the leaves deeply and variously 

 cut. It is frequently produced from seed, being found by nur- 

 serymen among seedlings of the species. In 1835, there were 

 above 100 of them, in two beds of one year's seedlings, in the Gold- 

 worth Nursery. A. p. crispum Lanth seems to be nothing more than 



