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Nomenclature etc. PLATANACEAE. P. acerifolia Wild. (syn.: P. orientalis L. var. acerifolia Ait.); P. occidentalis L.; P. orientalis L. Trade and local names: Platane, ahornblättrige Platane, abendländische Platane, morgenländische Platane (DE), platanier (FR), European plane (GB), sycamore, American sycamore (US), platano (IT), Europees platanen (NL), platán (HU). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: Europe, excl. Mediterranean, North America.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Heartwood basically red to white or grey. Sapwood colour mostly distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.38–0.58–0.65 g/cm³.
Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows and in clusters. Average tangential vessel diameter 40–70–135 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 55–85–110. Perforation plates simple and scalariform, with (1–)5–10 bars. Intervessel pits scalariform or opposite, average diameter (vertical) 5–7 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular. Helical thickenings rarely present, in narrow and wide vessel elements, throughout the body of vessel elements. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 960–1600–2250 µm. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma absent or extremely rare. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty.
Rays. Rays 3–4 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 4–12 cells wide. Rays of two distinct sizes. Height of large rays commonly over 1000 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent. Rays commonly thickened (noded) at growth ring boundaries.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Froth test weakly positive. Splinter burns to partial ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). radial (natural size). Platanus occidentalis. • Transverse section. Platanus occidentalis. • Tangential section. Platanus occidentalis. • Radial section. Platanus acerifolia. • Perforation plates. Platanus acerifolia. perforation plates both scalariform (left) and simple (right). • Intervessel pits; crystals. Platanus acerifolia. intervessel pitting opposite (left); prismatic crystals in ray cells (right).
The interactive key allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, summaries of attributes within groups of taxa, and geographical distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘Richter, H.G., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2000 onwards. Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. In English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Version: 9th April 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
