plane tree

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈplane ˌtree, n. [countable]

1. Plant Biology a large tree of North America, esp. the sycamore, with broad leaves and bark that peels off easily.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

plane′ tree′, 

1. Plant Biology any tree of the genus Platanus, esp. P. occidentalis, the buttonwood or sycamore of North America, having palmately lobed leaves and bark that sheds.

• late Middle English 1400–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

plane tree, plane noun

1. any tree of the genus Platanus, having ball-shaped heads of fruits and leaves with pointed lobes: family Platanaceae. The hybrid P. × acerifolia (London plane) is frequently planted in towns

Etymology: 14th Century plane, from Old French, from Latin platanus, from Greek platanos, from platos wide, referring to the leaves