page_title: Platanus
section_title: Cultural history
hierarchical_section_title: Platanus / Cultural history
caption_attribution_description: English: Patterned bark of London plane at Tayac, Dordogne, France
context_page_description: Platanus is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae.
  All members of Platanus are tall, reaching 30–50 m in height. All except for P. kerrii are deciduous, and most are found in riparian or other wetland habitats in the wild, though proving drought-tolerant in cultivation. The hybrid London plane has proved particularly tolerant of urban conditions, and has been widely planted in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
  They are often known in English as planes or plane trees. Some North American species are called sycamores, although the term sycamore also refers to the fig Ficus sycomorus, the plant originally so named, and to the sycamore maple Acer pseudoplatanus. The genus name Platanus comes from Ancient Greek πλάτανος, which referred to Platanus orientalis.
context_section_description: Most significant aspects of cultural history apply to Platanus orientalis in the Old World. The tree is an important part of the literary scenery of Plato's dialogue Phaedrus. Because of Plato, the tree also played an important role in the scenery of Cicero's De Oratore. The trees also provided the shade under which Aristotle and Plato’s famed philosophical schools were held.
  The plane tree has been a frequent motif featured in Classical Chinese poetry as an embodiment of sorrowful sentiments due to its autumnal shedding of leaves.
  The legendary Dry tree first recorded by Marco Polo was possibly a platanus. According to the legend, it marked the site of the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III.
  The German camouflage pattern Platanenmuster ("plane tree pattern"), designed in 1937–1942 by Johann Georg Otto Schick, was the first dotted camouflage pattern.
caption: Patterned bark of London plane
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