The Forestry Forum

Hi!

I just spent the weekend in Manhattan, and I noticed a type of tree I wasn't familiar with.  Around the Museum of Natural History, the trees had the label "________ plane________"

Plane was the only part of the name I kind of remember, although "London" is kind of floating around in my head.

The tree had a smooth bark that was mottled kind of grey and green.  Doea anyone know the name of the tree I'm trying to describe?

There is a London planetree.  It is presumably a hybrid between the sycamore and the Oriental plane.  These are used more in urban settings.  They look similar to a sycamore but are more olive-green in color.

It has to be the hybrid London plane tree. It it presumably a hybrid between American sycamore and the Oriental plane. London plane is similar in appearance to the native sycamore except that the bark is more olive green in color. It is planted more commonly as an ornamental and used as a street tree. Its range is the Eastern US.

We must have the same dendro book.

Wasn't the plane tree named by Wilbur and Orville Wright?  Heh. Heh. Just kidding.

Kim,

Great to see you supporting your Michigan forestry board, lady!  If you really visit my site regularly you would have known the answer.

Check the sycamore feature I wrote several months back:
http://forestry.about.com/science/forestry/library/weekly/aa071000.htm

Did you know that the London planetree is the most dominant big-city tree in America as well as western Europe?