PLATANUS X ACERIFOLIA
THE LONDON PLANE TREE
an exhibition of mobiles, drawings and paintings by
ALICE SIELLE
private view
Thursday 7th September 2017
6.00pm-8.00pm
8th-29th September
Monday –Thursday 10am- 9pm
Friday 10am – 7pm
Saturday 10.30am – 5.30pm.
The Brady Centre
192-196 Hanbury Street
London E1 5HU
020 7364 7900
RSVP
"Platanus x acerifolia, the majestic London plane, is a decorative life force that we see everyday in our parks, streets and squares. The most widely planted tree in London, its origins are still a mystery.
It is usually thought to be a hybrid between Platanus orientalis (the oriental plane) and Platanus occidentalis (the American sycamore). But although the hybrid is supposed to be fertile, I never see any seedlings.
It has been suggested that the initial hybridisation could have happened either in Spain or in Vauxhall Gardens, London. However, it was discovered in the mid-seventeenth century by John Tradescant the Younger in his famous garden at Lambeth, and as both the oriental plane and the American sycamore grew there, this could have been the site of their miscegenation.
With its habit of shedding bark in large flakes in summer (allowing it to rid itself of pollutants), and its tough, grime-repellant leaf surfaces, the London plane happily accommodated itself to the soot-blackened streets that followed the Industrial Revolution. However, it is not without its disadvantages. Its leaves take forever to rot and are useless for compost, and the hairs on the seeds are bad news for sufferers of asthma and hay fever.
The planes in Berkeley Square were planted in 1789 and are among the oldest in London. Our parks are full of avenues of magnificent planes – so decorative with their camouflage trunks and gracious foliage, decked in winter with fruit bobbles like magical Christmas trees".
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