Title: Bulletin (Pennsylvania Department of Forestry), no. 11
Identifier: bulletinpennsylv11penx (find matches)
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Pennsylvania. Dept. of Forestry
Subjects: Forests and forestry
Publisher: Harrisburg, Pa. : The Department : WM. Stanley Ray, state printer of Pennsylvania
Contributing Library: Penn State University
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
175 '1
Text Appearing After Image:
PLATE XCIII. BUTTONWOOD. 1. A flowering branch, x 5. 2. A head of flowers with most of the flowers renaoved. 3. A staminate flower, enlarged. 4. A pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. A fruiting branch with mature leaves, x J. 6. An achene, enlarged. . « .^ 7. A winter twig with two heads of fruit, x i. 8. Section of a twig sliowing a subpetiolar bud, x i. 9. Section of a twig sliowing a stipule, natural size. 10. Section of a winter twig, enlarged. X i. BUTTONWOOD. Platanus occidentalis, Linnaeus. FAMILY AND GENITS DESCKIPTION—The Plane Tree family, Platanaceae, comprises only 1 genus, Platanus, with about 7 species, 8 ol: which are native to the United States and 1 to Pennsylvania. In addition to the 1 species native to this State, the Old World Plane Tree (Platanus orientalls L.) is very commonly planted as a shade tree in the eastern states. FORM—Usually attains a hflght of 70-125 ft., but may roach a hoiglit of 140-170 ft. with a diameter of 3.0-11 feet. It is the most massive of the deciduous trees of North America. Trunk usually branches near the base into heavy sub-trunks, which sub-divide and form a very deep, wide-spreading, rather open, and irregular crown. BARK—On old trunks rather thick, rigid, roughened by sl-allow fissures separating broad ridges which peel off intc thin dark brown scales. On j-ouug trunks and upper parts of old ones it peels off spontaneously into large thin plates exposing a whitish, yellowish, or a greenish inner bark. This mottled inner bark is characteristic, but rarely found near the ground. See Fig. 57. TWIGS—Rather stout, zigzag, at first green and pubescent, later brownish to gray and gmooth, decurrently ridged, enlarged at the nodes, marked by numerous, small, pale lenticels, encircled by stipule-scars. Pith wide and white. BUDS—Alternate; terminal bud absent; sub-petiolar, surrounded by base of leaf-stalk or leaf- scars, J-J of an inch long, conical, dull-pointed, very divergent from section of branch above ond slightly from section below, covered with 3 scales, the outer one of which is amooth, shining, reddish-brown, the middle green and gumi.-iy, and the inner pubescent. LEAVES—Alternate, simple, broadly ovate, 3-5-lobed, toothed on margin, 4-10 inches across, bright green above, pale green and white woolly below. Petioles about 2 inches long, round, with enlarged hollow bases. Stipules li inches long, conspicuous, encircling twig. LEAF-SCARS—Alternate, 2-ranked, unequal in width, have a wavy outer margin, nearly encircle the buds at enlarged nodes of branches, form an angle of about CO degrees with the section of branch below, contain 5-10 bundle-acars which are arranged In a curved line and occur singly cr in groups. FLOWERS—Appear in dense heads with the leaves in May. Staminate and pistillate flower beads occur on different stalks. Staminate are axillary and dark red; pistillate terminal, greenish and often tinged with red. FRUIT—Matures in October. Occurs solitary or rarely in 2ls in brown heads about 1 inch in diameter suspended from a slender stalk. Heads often persist far into winter and are coinposi'd of many hairy achcnes alout :.' of an inch long. WOOD—Diffase-porous; rays conspicuously broad; pores minute; hard, difllcult to split, reddish-browr with light to jyellowish sapwood. Weighs 35.39 lbs. per cubic foot. Used in the manufacture of furniture, interior furnishing, crates, tobacco boxes, and charcoal. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS—The Buttonwood, also known as Buttonball, Syca- more, and Plane Tree, can readily be distinguished in summer by its massive form, its whitish, yellowish, or greenish bark of the upper branches which at times are covered with large, thin, dark brown scales of outer bark. The large leaves with their enlarged hollow- based peticleT and the flowers In the form of neads, are also characteristic. In winter the massive form and wtiitewashed appearance of the upper branches is distinctive. The smooth, reddish, sub-petiolar buds covered by a single exposed scale and surrounded by a leaf-scar with 5-10 bundle-scars will prevent one from confusing it with any other of our native species. The persistent fruit >\hich u.sually occurs solitary is readily distinguished from the oriental species which bears its fruit in clusters of 2-4. RANGE Maine and Ontario south to Florida, west to Minnesota, Nebraska and Texas. DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLVANIA—Common along streams, especially in the eastern, southern, and central parts of the State. HABITAT Prefers moist, fertile soil, but will grow in rather dry soil. Best development in tlie moist valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECIES—The wood of this species is annually becoming of more commercial importance and hence it should be planted at least to a limited extent. It toay be grown from cuttings or from seed. It is planted sparingly for ornamental purposes but the Oriental Sycamore seems to be preferred fince it is more attractive and less subject to fungous diseases. Mi

Note About Images