The plane tree is the most famous southern tree, and not only because it cannot be forgotten when you see it at least once. All the literature of the East - prose, poetry, folklore - is full of descriptions of this magnificent plant. The giant grows to 50 meters, and the trunk girth can be 20 meters. The crown is sprawling, dense, and the stems are spotty, reminiscent of marble, since the bark is constantly peeled off by large scales, exposing a gray-green smooth surface.
Of the 10 species of this tree, three are best known: the eastern plane tree, or plane tree, the western and southern plane tree with maple leaves (hybrid). Chinara is most often found in the Caucasus, in Central Asia (Pamir, Altai), in the Crimea. In Armenia, the reserve has a plane tree grove spread over 50 hectares. Groups of plants are often found along river valleys, in gorges, and also among mountain forests.
The plane tree grows rapidly, stretching over 2 meters per year, lives long, individual specimens - up to 2 thousand years. Maple-shaped leaves up to 20 cm wide. The crown is so thick that it can shelter a plot of several square meters from rain.
Plane tree (photo above) grows well on moist, well-drained soils, but tolerates alkaline soils quite well. Interestingly, it survives and grows rapidly in large cities, without reacting to smoke, chemical emissions into the atmosphere. Therefore, it is recommended for landing in parks along busy highways, to create shady alleys. It withstands frosts down to -15 ° С. The fruits are round, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, contain nut seeds. Propagated by seeds. Before planting, they are soaked for a day, and then planted to a depth of half a meter.
The plane tree is willingly cultivated in southern countries. They plant it at springs, aryks, at schools, temples. Landings in oases, along irrigation canals are recommended.
The native land and habitat of the western plane tree is North America. It is lower (height up to 35 meters), the seeds are smaller, the color of the bark is light green. It is not afraid of frosts to -35 ° C. In the USA, several plane-tree plantations have been created.
Groves of plane trees in the desert and along the roads indicate that people lived there, were at home, there were caravanserais of the Great Silk Road. These beautiful trees are loved and revered by the Greeks, Persians, and the peoples of Central Asia since antiquity, mainly because they hide from the heat, give shade and coolness. The third species is the maple leaf plane tree. It grows in Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia. It has been cultivated for many millennia.
Old trees even have their own names. Scientists are trying to determine the age of individual giants in the Mediterranean and Central Asia. They suggest an age of over 2 thousand years. In Turkmenistan, near the capital, there is a giant with seven trunks. He is called the "Seven Brothers." In Azerbaijan, near the village Agdash, grows a 500 year old tree with four trunks. In a huge hollow there was once a teahouse, which could accommodate up to ten people. And in Sherabad, the plane tree was able to place even a small Muslim school among its trunks.
Now, most often, for planting, they choose the maple-leaved plane tree - a hybrid of eastern and western. It is more winter-hardy, grows well in the middle lane, forms a crown faster. Such is the general outline of a plane tree - a southern handsome man who amazes with his proud greatness.
