London Plane (Platanus × hispanica)

2003 Cypress (2004 Spruce rear), 2000 and 2100 block of Cypress (don’t miss 2115 Cypress St.)

About these specimens: The specimens on these two blocks of Cypress Street demonstrate the adage, “Right tree, right place.” This is what happens when park-size trees are planted on a narrow street. These graceful giants must be well-loved indeed to be permitted to thrive in some of the most unlikely places. (In contrast, for a beautiful example of a well-sited London plane, wander over to the area across from 1926 Waverly Street.)

Leaf type: Large leaves, 4 – 9” long and wide; resembling maple leaves. Leaf lobes number 3 to 5. The hollow base of the leafstalk fits like a candle snuffer over a pointy-headed bud.

Bark: Outer bark peels away to create mottled shades of tan, white, gray and green. Upper branches are smooth and white or brightly dappled

Fruit: dangling from long stems are two 1” thick, ball-shaped seed nutlets nicknamed “buttonballs”

Average mature size in city: 40 - 80’ tall, 1 -3’ thick

Origin: crossbred in 17th century England between the American sycamore and the Oriental Planetree of southern Europe and Asia. Once mistakenly called an Oriental Plane.

Other notable features: The world’s most reliable and most common city tree. How to distinguish a Sycamore from a London Plane: London Plane’s buttonballs hang in pairs while Sycamores sport single balls. In the early 20th century Philadelphia leaders, seeking to raise the city’s stature, imitated the ubiquity of planes in Paris and London and made London Planes the most common trees planted in Philadelphia.