Plane trees are not only green leaf wonders. The trees produce abundant flowers every year, albeit of inconspicuous appearance. Months later, after fertilization, the fruit will develop. They then hang on the tree well into winter.
In winter, the sycamore fruits look like small Christmas balls
flowering and fertilization
From April, or May at the latest, the plane tree will sprout new leaves and, at the same time, their blossoms. The tree is monoecious, unisexual, i.e. it bears male and female flowers at the same time. The male inflorescences are greenish in color while females are burgundy.
The flowers are pollinated by the wind. The male flowers fall off earlier than the female ones.
Round fruits
Fruit can only develop from the female flowers. However, these are a long time coming. Because although the sycamore blossoms in spring, it doesn't finish hanging on the tree until October. Neither the flowers nor the fruits are bursting with beauty, but they have one interesting feature: their spherical shape.
- each fruit ball has a diameter of approx. 3 cm
- the fruits hang from the branch on thin stalks
- usually two fruits on a stem
- the stem has a total length of 15 to 20 cm
- the immature fruits are light green
- as they mature, they turn brown
tips
Be careful when you come into contact with the fruit. They, but also the leaves, have fine hairs that can be inhaled. This can lead to allergic reactions, comparable to hay fever.
nuts and seeds
The fruits of the plane tree are among the aggregate fruits. The fruit balls contain a large number of cylindrical nuts, which in turn hide the seeds. Although the fruits are not poisonous for us humans, they are not really edible due to their hardness.
In winter, the fruits become rotten and fall off the tree. This is also the moment when the ripe seeds are exposed to wind and water. They can later germinate in situ or are spread by birds, wind and water.
Use seeds for propagation
Everyone can multiply a new circuit board at home from the seeds of a plane tree. But beware: Not all varieties provide germinable seeds. The seeds are stored dry over the winter. Sowing takes place in the following summer.
Growing plane trees from seed is only for the patient gardener, as it takes a long time to grow into a larger tree. The upside is that it's pretty much free, unlike nursery specimens. However, there is no guarantee that the young plant is largely genetically identical to the mother tree.