Maple-leaved plane tree

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Maple-leaved plane tree
About 100-year-old maple-leaved plane tree (Platanus × hispanica) in front of Wiesbaden Central Station

About 100-year-old maple-leaved plane tree ( Platanus × hispanica ) in front of Wiesbaden Central Station

Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
Eudicotyledons
Order : Silver tree-like (Proteales)
Family : Sycamore family (Platanaceae)
Genre : Plane trees ( platanus )
Type : Maple-leaved plane tree
Scientific name
Platanus × hispanica
Münchh.

The maple-leaved plane , bastard plane , common plane , common plane , hybrid plane or London plane ( Platanus  × hispanica , Syn . : Platanus  × acerifolia , Platanus  × hybrida ) is a hybrid of the genus plane trees ( Platanus ) within the family of the plane trees (Platanaceae). It was created around 1650 by crossing the American plane tree ( Platanus occidentalis ) and the oriental plane tree ( Platanus orientalis ). In contrast to the parent Platanus orientalis , it is very hardy. It is named after the similarity of the leaves with the maples .

description

Bark and leaves
Lobed foliage leaf
inflorescence
Collective fruit
Collective fruit and nut fruits

Appearance and leaf

The maple-leaved plane tree grows as a deciduous tree and reaches a height of up to 45 meters. There are more than 300 year old specimens known that are still vigorous. It is sympodially branched. The treetop becomes tall and wide in older specimens. The bark of young trees is dark gray to brown; With increasing age, the bark flakes off in thin plates, the younger bark below is yellow-gray.

The red-brown leaf buds are egg-shaped and 6 to 8 millimeters long. Its winter bud has only one bud scale, which is hidden in the leaf base before the leaves fall.

The fresh leaf shoots are light brown to gray-green and hairy, but quickly bald. The alternate, maple-like leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is 5 to 10 inches long. The leaf blade is up to 15 to 25 centimeters in size and usually five-lobed. The size and shape of the leaf lobes vary depending on the clone line. At the leaf base serrated, ovate remain Nebenblätter especially in young trees cling longer.

Generative characteristics

The maple-leaved plane tree is single-sexed ( monoecious ). The flowers appear along with the foliage in May. There are usually two of them on catkins with a 6 to 8 centimeter long stem. The male flowers are greenish yellow and small; the female flowers are carmine red. The flowers grow in about 1 centimeter large partial inflorescences and hang with two or three inflorescences on a common inflorescence axis. The collective fruit is spherical, brown and about 3 centimeters in size; it hangs on a long handle. The individual fruits are angular-cylindrical nuts that contain the seeds.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 42.

Occurrence

According to Oberdorfer , the species occurs optimally on fresh, deep floodplain soils in areas without severe winter frosts. In Baden-Württemberg, seedlings were particularly observed on the banks of the Neckar near Stuttgart. This is not surprising, since both parent species originally grow in alluvial forests.

ecology

The leaves of the maple-leaved plane tree are initially covered with star hairs that peel off when they shoot and can irritate the airways to cause plane tree coughs. The outermost layer of the scaly bark is blasted off by a separating tissue in relatively large plates. This has to do with the growth spurt in summer when the trunk has grown in girth. The pronounced heart root forms an arbuscular mycorrhiza . In the case of a heart root system, several roots of different strengths are formed on the rhizome.

In terms of flower ecology, it is a wind- flowering species of the kitten-flower type or the hanging-flower type. For each female flower, several solitary nuts develop with a hooked stylus and a basal tuft of hair. Fruit ripens from November to December. In winter the stiff fruiting axes become rotten and easy to move. Then the spherical, about 3 cm wide fruit clusters disintegrate. The individual fruits are spread out as umbrella fliers or, when wet, as adhesive as well as Velcro, drilling and stepping fruits. In addition, processing is spread by small birds. The fruits are hibernators and light germs . The step fruits are very uncomfortable for dogs because the pointed limb hair can lead to irritation of the mucous membrane. In humans, the hairs that are partially detached when the fruit clusters break down can lead to conditions similar to hay fever .

use

Trimmed plane trees alternating with uncut trees as a frame for a temporary garden on a section of the Champs-Élysées

The maple-leaved plane tree tolerates air polluted by exhaust gases, cleans it and is considered insensitive to compacted soils. It is therefore a very popular street tree in many countries with a temperate climate . With the dense foliage in summer, it offers shady spots in sufficiently large spaces, not just as a large, spreading tree. However, it needs space and sun.

As a design element on inner-city streets such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris, the trimmed urban green also contributes to a more bearable microclimate in the form of cut trees . When planning and planting, care must be taken to ensure that there is sufficient distance from buildings and sewer pipes, the roots can also lift the surface of paths.

The wood of the plane tree

The radially cut wood of the plane trees has a very characteristic and decorative appearance with dark red-brown spots ( mirrors ) against a lighter background. Because of this effect, the wood is also known as silk wood. Because of its attractive grain, it was often used for Art Nouveau furniture in France, which is why inlay artists such as Émile Gallé liked to work with it.

Other uses

The leaves and bark of the plane tree were previously used medicinally because they contain astringent and disinfectant substances. A brown dye was made from the twigs and roots to dye the fabric.

Diseases and pests

The maple-leaved plane tree is relatively rarely attacked by diseases. In spring, the fungus Apignomonia veneta ( synonyms : Gnominia veneta, Gloeosporium nervisequum ) occurs; Young shoots infected by the fungal disease die off. Massaria disease has also appeared in Germany for a number of years .

Cultivated forms

Trimmed plane tree avenue in Deidesheim
  • 'Suttneri': This form has white variegated leaves, some of which are completely white inside the crown. The form is very rare; it can reach heights of up to 22 meters.

The so-called roof planes available in the trade have an unusual crown shape , which is achieved by a special shape cut . The main shoot is shortened on young trees and the remaining side branches are forced into a horizontal growth form by means of a framework (mostly made of bamboo sticks) and ties.

As a trimmed plane tree and a strong small tree on promenades, it needs regular maintenance.

literature

  • Alan Mitchell: The forest and park trees of Europe. An identification book for dendrologists and nature lovers . Paul Parey, Hamburg / Berlin 1975, ISBN 3-490-05918-2 (translated and edited by Gerd Krüssmann).
  • Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait . 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rolf Wisskirchen, Henning Haeupler: Standard list of fern and flowering plants in Germany. With chromosome atlas . Ed .: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (=  The fern and flowering plants of Germany . Volume 1 ). Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3360-1 , p. 370 .
  2. ↑ Jaakko Jalas, Juha Suominen, Raino Lampinen, Arto Kurtto (eds.): Atlas Florae Europaeae. Distribution of Vascular Plants in Europe. 12. Resedaceae to Platanaceae. Akateeminen Kirjakauppa & Tiedekirja, The Committee for Mapping the Flora of Europe & Societas Biologica Fennica Vanamo, Helsinki 1999, ISBN 951-9108-12-2 , p. 240.
  3. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  423 .
  4. ↑ Oskar Sebald and a .: The fern and flowering plants of Baden-Württemberg . 2nd edition Volume 1, page 342. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1993. ISBN 3-8001-3322-9
  5. ↑ a b Why do plane trees shed their bark? , NDR, August 3, 2018.
  6. ↑ a b [1] , garden database, accessed on November 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ Green Leaf Berlin 06-2014 (PDF 1.6 MB) ( Memento from October 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Plane tree in autumn
Commons : Maple-leaved plane tree ( Platanus × hispanica )  - album with pictures, videos and audio files