PLANE, a popular name for several trees of the genus Plantanus, which alone constitutes the family Platanacece, which includes six or seven species, all natives of the northern hemi sphere. The American plane, sycamore, button wood, or buttonball (Plotanus occidentalis), the largest tree of eastern North America, often at tains heights of 130 feet and occasionally more than 150 feet. The diameter is frequently more than eight feet. It is a native from Maine to Minnesota and southward to the Gulf States and is a familiar object in low grounds along streams, especially in the Middle States. Its brownish timber is sometimes used for interior finish and frequently for fuel The California sycamore (P. racemosa) and the Arizona syca more (P. wrightii) are smaller than the eastern, which they resemble more or less. They are confined to the southwestern States. The name *plane'" is often applied to the sycamore maple or great maple (Acerpseudoplatanus) because of the resemblance of the foliage to that of the true plane tree.
The Oriental plane is P. orientalis, a native of India, southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe. It grows about 80 feet tall, has a rather short, thick trunk and a broad round head; grayish or greenish bark which annually flakes off; large, palmate, deciduous leaves; and moncecious flowers crowded in globular heads, pendulous on long stalks. The bristly fruit-heads persist during the winter. The tree was popularly planted by the Greeks and Ro mans as an ornament and specimens are still extant which are reputed to be more than 2,000 years old. It thrives best in moist, rich alluvial soil. The timber of young trees is cream colored i that of old trees brownish. Being fine-grained and easily polished it is popular for cabinet making and for interior finishing.