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Trees- ShrubsOriental Plane (Platanus orientalis)
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There are many species within the Plantanus genus. It is very similar to Plantanus acerifolia and the two often hybridise where their ranges cross (1). P. orientalis var. cretica is a variant of P. orientalis. It is found only on Crete and, unlike other Plane trees, it is evergreen (2) P. orientalis is a large tree, upwards of 20 m, with a spreading crown. It has palmate leaves which are divided into five to seven lobes, which are either; entire, toothed or lobed. The flowers form spherical heads hanging in bunches of three or four along elongated stalks. The heads later turn into clusters of many seeds (3). The bark may flake off in places leaving a dappled surface (4).
The shoots of Plantanus orientalis are yellow or pale brown, however in their second year they tend to turn greyish in colour. All the shoots are covered in down, which is shed when mature (1). The tree is deciduous (3) and therefore looses its leaves in the autumn, re-growth starts in April.
They require plenty of underground surface water and therefore they prefer the banks of rivers and ravines. They can be found in altitudes up to and sometimes over 1500 m (3).
It can be found in Greece and the South east Aegean (3). Its range extends to the Iberian Peninsular and through Asia Minor into Nepal (1).
IUCN Red List = Lower Risk, least concern (4)
Description written by Amy Trayler (2009)
(1) Plane Trees in London (2009) Platanus orientalis [online] Available:
http://www.aranya.co.uk/planes/text/orientalis.html [date accessed: 07/05/2009]
(2) Nikolakaki. S.E., and Hajaje. H.M. (2001) Phenology of flowering of the evergreen Oriental Planes (Platanus orientalis var. cretica) endemic in the island of Crete, Forest Genetics, 8(3): 233-236
(3) Sfikas. G. (2001) Trees and Shrubs of Greece, Efstathiadis Group S.A., Greece
(4) IUCN 2008 (2008) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [online] Available: http://www.iucnredlist.org [date accessed: 07/05/2009]
