Genus: Plantanus (plane)

Family: Platanaceae (plane)

The name “sycamore” with an “a” is the English adaptation of the name of the ancient sycomore fig, Ficus sycomorus, native to Egypt and the Middle East. This name has become mistakingly become associated with two distinctly different families of trees: Acer pseudoplatanus (false-plane maple), and several species of Platanus (plane).

This confusion began with the Bible, which refers to Ficus sycomorus (sycomore fig) at least nine times. In Luke 19: 1-10 Zacchaeus, a tax collector, climbed a sycomore fig tree to see Jesus in Jericho. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus he called for him and invited himself to Zacchaeus’s home. The crowd questioned why Jesus would go to the house of a tax collector who cheated. Jesus replied that he came to help everyone, even those that did harm. This inspired Zacchaeus to become a better person and repay everyone he had cheated.

This story of Zacchaeus was so popular in Britain that the people began to search for a sycomore tree of their own. Since sycomore trees don’t grow in cool-wet climates they didn’t know what it looked like or what it was, so they imagined it to be a large shade tree with low-hanging branches. Soon the newly introduced Great maple became their “sycamore” tree.

The Great maple (Acer pseudoplatanus – false plane) of Central Europe and Western Asia, and the legendary Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) of Southwestern Europe, were both introduced as large ornamental shade trees during the English Tudor period (1485 – 1603). Within a matter of years the Great maple had self-populated throughout the British Isles, while the slow-growing Oriental plane remained in the Royal gardens.

In the 1600’s the British began traveling between the “New World” and the “Old World.” They brought their beloved “sycamore” tree with them. The irony is that the colonists identified the western plane (Platanus occidentalis), which only grew in the colonies, as a sycamore tree due to the similarity of it leaves to their sycamore tree.

Acer pseudoplatanus (false-plane maple) and Platanus (plane) do share many similarities. They are both deciduous hardwood trees with palmate leaves that are often used as shade trees. But, these two trees differ dramatically when looking at their non-edible “fruit.” Acer pseudoplatanus produces fruit in the form of a double-winged seed pod called a samaras or helicopter seed, something which all maples produce. All plane trees such as, Platanus orientalis, produce fruit in the form of round-seeded balls.

As trade continued to increase between countries and continents, the naming of plants and animals became more confusing and jumbled. The original names were lost due to the inability to understand and translate multiple languages. Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) “The Father of Modern Taxonomy” created the modern system of binomial nomenclature (two-term naming system). He identified the first part of the name as the “genus” (generic name) and the second part as the “species” (specific name).

Linnaeus placed the ancient sycomore fig in the Ficus (fig) genus, which today represents 850 species native to the tropics. The Latin name for this species was sycomorus, which had been used for over 1500 years. The type species in the Ficus genus is Ficus carica (common fig). The Ficus genus belongs to the Moraceae (mulberry-fig) family.

Click on this link to learn more about the sycomore fig

For more in-depth insights on Fig trees visit my blog-post: March – Fig

Linnaeus chose Acer (sharp in Latin) as the genus name for maple, based on the sharp points of its palmate leaves. He named the Great maple, which the British called “sycamore,” Acer pseudoplatanus. The species name Pseudoplatanus (false plane) is based on the similarities between the leaves of the Acer (maple) genus and the Platanus (plane) genus. He also made Acer pseudoplatanus the “type species” for the entire Acer (maple) genus. There are over 132 species of maple trees in the world, most are native to Asia. All maples are members of the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family.

Click on this link to learn more about the maple tree

Linnaeus identified the genus for the historic plane tree as Platanus (plane tree in Greek and Latin). He named the type species Platanus orientalis, meaning plane from the east (orient). Platanus is based on the Indo-European word platys (broad) from the PIE root pele (to spread). The Eastern plane Platanus occidentalis, which is native to the United States, can reach heights of 150 feet and live to be 2000 years old. Plane trees are the only members in the Planataceae family.

Click on this link to learn more about plane trees

In 1805 the newest member of plane family was officially named, Platanus x acerifolia. The species name Acerifolia (like the leaves of a maple) represented a blend of the “Old World” eastern plane with the “New World” western plane. This species became so popular in London that it became known as the London plane. By 1920 more that 60% of London’s trees were plane trees.

The plane tree is far from “plain.”

The Iliad, written by Homer (c. 800 BCE) tells the story of the “platanistos” or plane tree. It was so revered by Greek soldiers that they gathered around it to perform a ceremony before invading Troy.

Greek historian, Herodotus (c. 484 – 425 BCE) “The Father of History” wrote of how a magnificent plane tree detracted Xerxes of Persia (c. 518 – 465 BCE) on his way to invading Greece. Xerxes was so captivated by this plane tree that he took the time to present it with golden ornaments and stationed a guard to protect it. This time-consuming act cost him the war and allowed the Athenian Empire to flourish.

Greek physician, Hippocrates (c. 450 – 380 BCE) “The Father of Medicine” taught medicine to his students under the shade of a plane tree on the island of Kos. The “Tree of Hippocrates” is an eastern plane tree that marks the exact place where Hippocrates once taught.

Greek philosopher, Plato (c. 428 – 348 BCE) saw plane trees as sacred and divine beings in their own right. He felt that by standing in the presence of a plane tree one could explore matters of the soul. In Plato’s Phaedrus, he chronicled a discourse between Socrates and Phaedrus where Phaedrus swore a solemn oath in the presence of a plane tree as if it were a god. Plato planted plane trees throughout Athens, as symbols of truth and integrity. He saw them as sentient beings.

Greek philosopher and botonist, Theophrastus “The Father of Botany” (c. 371 – 287 BCE) wrote two groundbreaking books that systemized plants by name, type and use. Enquiry into Plants “Historia Plantarum,” and On the Causes of Plants “De causes planetarium.” Each book contained 8 to 10 individual volumes. First published in the 1400’s and translated from Greek to Latin, they served as the foundation for Carl Linnaeus, who called Theophrastus “The Father of Botany.” Theophrastus also taught under the shade of the plane trees at the Academy of Athens.

Plane trees were also admired by the Romans, Persians and Turks who planted them in gardens, public parks and promenades. Royal courts saw plane trees as a sign of nobility, wisdom and strength.

In Kashmir the plane tree is known as a Chinar tree, and designated as their State tree. The name Chinar comes from the Persian word meaning “what a fire” inspired by its orange and red leaves in autumn.

The largest species of plane tree (Platanus occidentalis – western plane) is native only to the United States. These magnificent trees are often mistakingly called “sycamore” or “American sycamore”. Other names include; buttonwood, button ball, American plane, water beech or whitewood. Platanus occidentalis can reach heights of 160 feet with massive trunks and roots. There are several other species of plane that are native to the eastern and central United States as well as the mountains of Northeastern Mexico and Southeast Canada.

It is important to note that the name “plane” shares it roots with other notable words such as: plant, planet, plaza, place and possibly even Plato himself. Platanus is based on the Indo-European word platys, meaning “broad.” All of these words are based on the Proto-Indo-European root pele or pleh₂ meaning “to spread.” We are being reminded that plane trees are not only ancient and impressive shade trees, they are in fact wisdom keepers that stretch our imagination and expand our mind.

“Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots.” – Rumi

By knowing the truth about these magnificent trees we can honor them by beginning to call them by their “true” name.

Trees that are mistakingly called “sycamore.”

• Sycomore fig
  • Ficus sycomorus – sycamore
• False-plane maple
  • Acer pseudoplatanus – sycamore or sycamore maple
• True-plane
  • Platanus orientalis – (eastern plane) – sycamore
  • Platanus occidentalis – (western plane) – American sycamore
  • Platanus x acerfolia – (maple-like plane) – London plane & sycamore
  • Platanus racemosa – (cluster plane) – California sycamore or Western sycamore
  • Platanus mexicana – (Mexican plane) – Mexican sycamore
  • Platanus wrightii – (Charles Wright plane) – Arizona sycamore

Honor these trees by knowing their “true name.”

• Sycomore fig
  • Ficus sycomorus – Sycomore fig
• False-plane maple
  • Acer pseudoplatanus – European maple
• True-plane
  • Platanus orientalis – (eastern plane) – Eastern plane
  • Platanus occidentalis – (western plane) – Western plane
  • Platanus x acerfolia – (maple-like plane) – London plane
  • Platanus racemosa – (cluster plane) – California plane
  • Platanus mexicana – (Mexican plane) – Mexican plane
  • Platanus wrightii – (Charles Wright plane) – Arizona plane

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” – Galileo 

Today’s Message: The plane spirit reminds us to unlearn what we think we know in order to understand the truth that is hidden in plain sight. This is a time of expansion as we broaden our horizon to see the bigger picture before acting on misguided information even if it was well intentioned.

Today’s Challenge: To not believe everything you are told, which can make you vulnerable to misinformation. Spreading misinformation based on unsubstantiated information.

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Thank you for you support. Laural

Tree Spirit Tarot – Return to the Garden of our Soul

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