The plane tree

Existing in Europe during the Cretaceous, the plane tree disappeared there during the Ice Age. The Western plane tree (uncommon in Europe and of American origin) and the Eastern plane tree (planted by the Romans in Italy around 390 BC) evolved differently.

They were introduced and hybridized in Spain (hence the name “Hispanica”) and in England around 1650, to give the common plane tree or maple-leaved plane tree, the most common in France.

The Platane was introduced in France in 1770 and at the end of the 18th century, it was only used as firewood. But in the second half of the 19th century, the elms fell victim to a disease, and as the ash trees were exploited, the plane tree, which we had learned to produce in large quantities in the nursery, took precedence over the other species.

When the exploitation of firewood was driven out by that of coal, the plane trees became the landscape trees that we know.