Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; prefers a deep, rich, loamy soil near water, but grows in almost any situation; of more rapid growth than almost any other native tree, and formerly planted freely in ornamental grounds and on streets, but fungous diseases disfigure it so seriously, and the late frosts so often kill the young leaves that it is now seldom obtainable in nurseries; usually propagated from seed. The European plane, now largely grown in some nurseries, is a suitable substitute.
Plate LVI.—Platanus occidentalis.
| 1. Winter buds. |
| 2. Flowering branch with sterile and fertile heads. |
| 3. Stamen. |
| 4. Pistil. |
| 5. Fruiting branch. |
| 6. Stipule. |
| 7. Bud with enclosing base of leafstalk. |
POMACEÆ. APPLE FAMILY.
Trees or shrubs; leaves simple or pinnate, mostly alternate, with stipules free from the leafstalk and usually soon falling; flowers regular, perfect; calyx 5-lobed; calyx-tube adnate to ovary; petals 5, inserted on the disk which lines the calyx-tube; stamens usually many, distinct, inserted with the petals; carpels of the ovary 1-5, partially or entirely united with each other; ovules 1-2 in each carpel; styles 1-5; fruit a fleshy pome, often berry-like or drupe-like, formed by consolidation of the carpels with the calyx-tube.