Last updated November 18, 2021. All photos by the author.
London plane tree in a park on October 10 2021.
Why doesn’t this maple tree have maple seeds? I wondered. The answer is because it’s a London plane tree! With beautiful camouflage bark and seeds hanging in balls on the tree year-round, London plane trees are easy to identify at any time of the year.
If you see maple-type leaves (palmate venation and 3-5 lobes) but they are alternately attached rather than oppositely attached, you may be near a London plane tree. This tree is a hybrid of the oriental plane tree and the American sycamore and has the scientific name Platanus x acerifolia.
Mature London plane leaf in early fall. Notice the dark green shiny surface, 5 large lobes and relatively short petiole (leaf stalk). Leaves can be wider than they are tall and have 3 or 5 lobes.
The underside of a mature London plane leaf. Light green and dull, not shiny like the upper surface.
Closeup of the base of the underside of a mature leaf. Notice the venation that gives rise to its five lobes (three thick veins with two slightly thinner ones).
End view of the petiole (leaf stalk). Notice that it is hollow and oblong in shape with hairs inside.
London plane leaves found below the tree in the first photo. Notice the slight variations in shape depending on how large the leaf grew. They are starting to change colour as it is autumn.
Leaves changing colour from green to yellow to brown in the fall. Notice the alternate attachment. The ground around these trees is almost completely covered with fallen leaves now in early November.
Looking up from under a London Plane tree in the fall. Like all deciduous trees, London Plane leaves change colour and are dropped by the tree before strong autumn and winter storms blow in.
Another distinguishing feature of the London plane tree is its fruits and flowers. Look for balls hanging singly or in pairs. They are green initially, then reddish, then brown and dry when mature. The seeds have fluffy attachments that let them blow away in the wind. Another tree with hanging balls but much different leaves and bark is the sweetgum tree.
Perhaps my favourite thing about this tree is the beautiful bark. Each tree seems to have its own character depending on the size of its bark flakes, the colours of its inner and outer bark, and the amount and types of lichen it is host to.
Closeup of the bark in early October. As the older layers flake off in irregular scales, the inner yellowish-green inner bark is exposed.
The base of a London Plane tree in early October. Notice the flakes of bark in the grass and how the flaking goes all the way to the base of the tree. This tree also had lots of lichen on it.
Bark on a different London Plane tree. I’ve noticed trees have slight variations in colouring and size and shape of flakes.
Another London plane tree’s bark in late afternoon sun.
Leaves emerging in the spring. Notice the hairs.
Looking up from beneath a London Plane tree in the early spring. Notice the emerging light green leaves. You can also see last year’s seed balls still hanging from the upper branches.The tree I think you may most likely confuse with a London Plane tree is a tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). These are leaves collected in fall, notice tulip tree leaves typically have even numbers of lobes and only one main vein. Tulip tree leaves have pinnate venation and London Plane trees have palmate venation. Also, tulip trees do not have hanging balls for flowers and fruit.
So go outside today, or any time of the year, to find this interesting introduced non-invasive species. Common in parks and sidewalks throughout the lower mainland.
