Platanus racemosa
Platanus racemosa | |
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California Sycamore by Mathias Joseph Alten c. 1929 (Grand Rapids Art Museum )
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Proteales |
Family: | Platanaceae |
Genus: | Platanus |
Species: | P. racemosa
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Binomial name | |
Platanus racemosa | |
Natural range |
Platanus racemosa is a species of
Description
This large tree grows to 35 metres (110 ft) in height with a trunk diameter of up to one meter (three feet). The height of these trees ranges from 10 to 35 meters.[4] A specimen on the campus of Stanford University has a trunk girth (circumference) of 10.5 feet (3.20 m).[5] The trunk generally divides into two or more large trunks splitting into many branches. The bark is an attractive patchwork of white, tawny beige, pinkish gray, and pale brown.[6] Both older bark and twigs on this plane sycamore become darker with time. The twigs and bark range from a light brownish gray to a shade resembling the color sepia.
Platanus racemosa is the dominant species in the globally and state endangered sycamore-alluvial woodland habitat.
The large
The tough and coarse-grained wood is difficult to split and work. It has various uses, including acting as a meat preparation block for
Cultivation
It is also widely planted horticulturally as a
Uses
California sycamores are hold wood that is hard to chop yet its wood can still be employed to create a variety of items such as buttons, tobacco boxes, furniture, wooden utensils, barrels, and much more.[1][8] California sycamores often grow in moist, warmer climates such as valleys or deserts and the wide, slanting branches of the tree provide shade as a respite from the heat.[6] This western sycamore's shade cools the surrounding bodies of water while simultaneously offering a home for some animals in the humid environment in which it flourishes.[9]
Ecology
Increased human interference has made the P. racemosa more susceptible to cross-breeding with other Platanus trees. This
Another disease that that the P. racemoa is particularly receptive to is the Fusarium dieback which is carried and passed on through two kinds of invasive ambrosia beetles. Removing the tree itself is one way to prevent the significant harms of Fusarium dieback from spreading but a mixture of fungicides such as metconazole combined with an insecticide can additionally reduce the number of ambrosia beetles that transmit this disease. Close monitoring is required in order to prevent a substantial beetle infestation from occurring as that would damage the tree to the point of needing removal.[10][4]
Further hybridization between the P. racemosa and P. x hispanica are a threat to the genetic diversity and identity of the former. The disease combatant advantage that the hybrid provides can bring about a decline in the native tree. The ensuing decline and genetic disintegration could not only harm the tree itself, but nesting birds, monarch butterflies, and numerous other small animals that reside or find shelter within the California sycamore's shade. D. Whitlock's study on the RNA of the Platanus trees near the Sacramento River reveals that P. racemosa contains genes from P. x hispanica, which consequently demonstrates the increased erasure of the former.[4]
See also
- Big Sycamore Canyon - a place in Ventura County, California with a population of California sycamore trees
References
- ^ a b c d e Deardorff, David (1977). "Plant Portraits: California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa)". Garden. 1: 5–7 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (N.R.A.), General Management Plan (GMP): Environmental Impact Statement. United States: n.p., 1982.
- ^ National Park Service Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area - Riparian Woodlands Archived 2021-05-18 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. National Park Service
- ^ S2CID 254422699.
- ^ a b "Stanford Trees, Shrubs, and Vines". Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-395-58175-9.
- ^ a b "Californiagardens.com". Archived from the original on 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- S2CID 84936560.
- ^ a b Lang, Kylene R. "Microsatellite Development in "Plantanus" for Documenting Gene Flow Among Species". scholarworks.calstate.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- PMID 30673581.