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PLANE TREE (Platanus x acerifolia)
Key: Fine judgement
The Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) is a massive tree that can grow to many thousands of years old. It has a huge low bole that sends out large branches that often rest upon the ground before swinging upwards again. It was planted in Britain before 1600. The commonest variety of plane seen is the London plane, a hybrid between the oriental plane and American plane. Though this is a familiar tree in towns and cities (hence its name) because it survives pollution very well in poor soils, it is still a large forest tree – the largest in Britain.
London plane probably arose in Tradescant’s nursery in the 1650’s where both parent trees were known to exist. As its Latin name suggests the leaves are similar in shape to the sycamore, except generally larger and with a shiny surface. Of the parents the oriental plane has deeply indented lobes and the American plane, very shallow lobes. Male and female flowers grow on the same tree in spring as yellow and red spheres – the females at the growing tips, the males further back. The red female flowers ripen to become large hanging balls of seed remaining on the tree throughout the winter. The London plane grows to 100 ft (30m) and, when allowed, will have a broad spreading crown with thick, twisting boughs. The characteristic bark is smooth and peeling to reveal lighter creamy patches underneath.
Plane tree encourages fine judgement – the ability to discern the truth of a situation. This justice, wisdom and calm clarity derives from a deep tuning into the nature of things. Plane helps to develop a mental structure that is able to cope with the flow of intuition and information.
The essence has a beneficial effect on the Small Intestine meridian preventing too much introspection or dwelling on sadness. It can be useful for those who are prone to over-analyse and who are subject to fits of melancholy.
The Gall Bladder meridian is also strengthened and this can create a state of detachment where a broader viewpoint can be seen. Again a peacefulness replaces anxiety and intellectual or organisational over-analysis.
The mental body is relaxed and becomes more open to deeper perceptions and meditative states. Plane tree creates a calm, detached space in which to grow.
Signature: Retaining its seed capsules: memory, information, facts. The ability to respond positively to outside influences ( withstanding pollution, heavy pruning etc.), implies detachment and the ability to let go and see the larger perspective.
Comment: Plane trees, especially the oriental plane, have a long history of being venerated for their great size and age. It is said that the Persian emperor Darius halted on one of his campaigns to honour a plane tree with sumptuous offerings. This is hard to imagine if you know only the street trees – but find a free-spreading, unpruned mature tree and it is easy to get a better impression of the energy. Oriental planes, because they are so large and more sensitive to cool weather are less planted than the vigorous, tough hybrid. The London plane is another tree born in this country combining the energies of the Americas and Asia into a new form.