{"id":71,"date":"2025-09-24T15:34:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/?p=71"},"modified":"2025-09-25T17:16:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T21:16:21","slug":"american-planetree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/","title":{"rendered":"American Planetree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns sidebar is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50rem\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em><em><em><em><em>Platanus occidentalis<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">Because the wood of the American planetree rots quickly, its hollow trunks serve as critical habitats for cavity-nesting birds such as screech owls, chimney swifts, and wood ducks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group boxout has-light-green-background-color has-background is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Location<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We have one American planetree growing in the Arboretum. See if you can spot it as you walk along the Larch Lane trail.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50rem\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-leaf.jpg\" alt=\"american planetree leaves\" class=\"wp-image-73\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-leaf.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-leaf-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-leaf-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull section-intro has-light-warm-gray-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-stretch is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"background-image:url(&apos;https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-elm-tree.jpg&apos;);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;\" class=\"wp-block-group padded lifted has-white-background-color has-background wp-container-content-69bc4bdf is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:25.625rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group padded has-charcoal-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-10d39f8db6828376d748f66aa09ea07c is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History at Hadwen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro has-medium-font-size\">The American planetree was one of the species originally planted by Hadwen on his estate. In later studies conducted in the 1970s, American planetree is absent. This could be due to its vulnerabilities to disease making it an unusual choice in landscaping. One American planetree exists in the Arboretum today, planted by Clark University volunteers in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group section is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div style=\"color:var(--clarku-color-green)\" class=\"eyebrow  has-text-align-left\">Keep learning<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed species information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>American planetree, also known as American sycamore or just sycamore, is a deciduous tree in the family Platanaceae. It can be found throughout the eastern and central United States and often reaches 600 years in age. It can be distinguished easily from other trees by the irregular mottled pattern of its bark, which typically flakes off in large swaths. This is due to the rigid nature of the American planetree\u2019s bark, which does not naturally stretch as the tree grows, but instead falls off in brittle pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because this species is long-lived, it can reach 131 feet (40 meters) tall and well over 6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. The largest recorded American planetree is 174 feet (53 meters) tall and is known as the Buttonball Tree. It\u2019s located in Sunderland, MA, about 60 miles west of the Hadwen Arboretum. These trees are often divided into several secondary trunks. The leaves are alternate and three to five-lobed. Flowers emerge in May with dense, spherical heads covered in dark red staminate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This tree is often found in moist environments such as wetlands and floodplains and is typically the largest of the plant species in these environments. It reproduces in a \u201cweedy\u201d pattern with large quantities of seeds dispersed as soon as the tree reaches maturity. The wood of the American planetree rots quickly, often leaving hollow trunks which serve as habitat for many cavity-nesting birds such as screech owls, chimney swifts, and wood ducks. American planetree is also a specialized host for the sycamore tussock moth and an important host of other insects such as the drab prominent moth. In addition to this, the American planetree is a host to various pests and diseases such as sycamore leaf beetle and a fungus causing plane anthracnose disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Platanus occidentalis Because the wood of the American planetree rots quickly, its hollow trunks serve as critical habitats for cavity-nesting birds such as screech owls, chimney swifts, and wood ducks. Location We have one American planetree growing in the Arboretum. See if you can spot it as you walk along the Larch Lane trail. History [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trees"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>American Planetree | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"American Planetree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Platanus occidentalis Because the wood of the American planetree rots quickly, its hollow trunks serve as critical habitats for cavity-nesting birds such as screech owls, chimney swifts, and wood ducks. Location We have one American planetree growing in the Arboretum. See if you can spot it as you walk along the Larch Lane trail. History [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hadwen Arboretum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClarkUniversityWorcester\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-24T19:34:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-25T21:16:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"515\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@clarkuniversity\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@clarkuniversity\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carol D&#039;Onofrio\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/\"},\"headline\":\"American Planetree\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-24T19:34:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-25T21:16:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":407,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/97\\\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Trees\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Planetree | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/97\\\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-24T19:34:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-25T21:16:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4c0be9f2f560ba702b0451d333f0619\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/trees\\\/american-planetree\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/97\\\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/97\\\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg\",\"width\":515,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"american planetree\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/posts\\\/71#breadcrumbs\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":0,\"name\":\"ClarkU\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Hadwen Arboretum\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hadwen Arboretum\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/hadwen-arboretum\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"American Planetree | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"American Planetree","og_description":"Platanus occidentalis Because the wood of the American planetree rots quickly, its hollow trunks serve as critical habitats for cavity-nesting birds such as screech owls, chimney swifts, and wood ducks. Location We have one American planetree growing in the Arboretum. See if you can spot it as you walk along the Larch Lane trail. History [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/","og_site_name":"Hadwen Arboretum","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClarkUniversityWorcester","article_published_time":"2025-09-24T19:34:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-25T21:16:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":515,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@clarkuniversity","twitter_site":"@clarkuniversity","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carol D'Onofrio","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/"},"headline":"American Planetree","datePublished":"2025-09-24T19:34:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-25T21:16:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/"},"wordCount":407,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg","articleSection":["Trees"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/","name":"American Planetree | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-24T19:34:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-25T21:16:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c0be9f2f560ba702b0451d333f0619"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/american-planetree\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg","width":515,"height":640,"caption":"american planetree"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":0,"name":"ClarkU","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Hadwen Arboretum","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/","name":"Hadwen Arboretum","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/american-planetree-portrait.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions\/188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}