Editing Platanus (section)

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants constituting the family Platanaceae}}
{{Redirect|Plane tree|the mathematical structure|Ordered tree}}
{{for-multi|the mythological figure|Platanus (mythology)|the ancient town|Platanus (Cilicia)|medieval fortress|Platanus (castle)|the asteroid|9309 Platanus}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Platanus orientalis fruits, Thasos.jpg
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Late Cretaceous | Present}}
| image_caption = Leaves and fruit of an Oriental plane
| taxon = Platanus
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}

'''''Platanus''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|l|æ|t|ə|n|ə|s}} {{respell|PLAT|ən|əss}}{{sfn|Sunset Western Garden Book|1995}}) is a [[genus]] consisting of a small number of [[tree]] species native to the [[Northern Hemisphere]]. They are the sole living members of the family [[Platanaceae]].

All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching {{convert|30|-|50|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in height. The [[type species]] of the genus is the Oriental plane ''[[Platanus orientalis]]''. All except for ''[[Platanus kerrii|P. kerrii]]'' are [[deciduous]], and most are found in [[riparian]] or other [[wetland]] [[habitat (ecology)|habitats]] in the wild, though proving [[drought-tolerant]] in cultivation. The hybrid [[London plane]] (''Platanus × hispanica'') has proved particularly tolerant of urban conditions, and has been widely planted in London and elsewhere across the temperate world.

They are often known in English as '''planes'''  or '''plane trees'''. A formerly used name that is now rare is '''plantain tree''' (not to be confused with [[Plantain (disambiguation)|other, unrelated, species with the name]]).<ref>{{cite OED|plantain, n.2}}</ref> Some North American species are called '''sycamores''' (especially ''[[Platanus occidentalis]]''),{{sfn|Merriam Webster}} although the term is also used for [[Sycamore|several unrelated species of trees]]. The genus name ''Platanus'' comes from [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|πλάτανος}}, which referred to ''[[Platanus orientalis]]''.<ref>{{LSJ|pla/tanos|πλάτανος|ref}}</ref>