Flora of North America species comparison

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Platanus racemosa

California sycamore, western sycamore
Habit Trees, to 15(-25) m, rather massive; trunks sometimes straight and erect, more commonly irregular, reclining, or prostrate with branches irregular and sometimes near ground, to 2+m diam.
Leaves

blade dark green, 3-5-lobed, 10-25 × 10-25 cm, rather thick;

lobes of blade mostly longer than wide, basal lobes usually somewhat smaller and spreading, not reflexed, sinuses broad and deeply concave, depth of distal sinuses about 1/3-2/3 distance from sinus to base of blade, terminal leaf lobe ca. 1/3-2/3 length of blade;

margins entire to remotely serrulate, apex acute to acuminate, sometimes rounded;

surfaces abaxially persistently tomentose, adaxially glabrescent.
Achenes

7-10 mm, basal hairs about 2/3 length of achenes.
Pistillate

inflorescences: heads (1-)2-7; fruiting heads 20-25(-30) mm diam., lateral ones sessile; fruiting rachis to 25 cm.
2n

= 42.

Platanus racemosa
Phenology Flowering spring; fruiting late fall.
Habitat Streamsides and moist, rocky canyons, often abundant
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The Eurasian oriental plane, Platanus orientalis Linnaeus, is sometimes cultivated and would key to this or the next species. It has deeply lobed, serrate leaves resembling Acer saccharinum and A. macrophyllum, and the fruiting rachis bears three to six heads.

Native Americans used infusions prepared from the plants of Platanus orientalis medicinally as a panacea, and from the bark for indisposition (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Platanaceae > Platanus
Sibling taxa
P. occidentalis, P. wrightii
Name authority Nuttall: N. Amer. Sylv. 1: 47. (1842)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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