Plane trees are among the most numerous large street and park trees in Greater London. Their numbers in the capital are in excess of 100,000, though this still places them well behind the leaders. However as there are so many large specimens in prominent locations within central and inner London streets and squares, this can mislead. In any case, they have been present, probably since the end of the 18th century, and they have become the dominant large urban tree during the industrial revolution. Their further use and planting continues.

History of cultivation

The Oriental plane has been cultivated in gardens for millennia, especially in its native range of south-east Europe and Western Asia. It was the first plane tree known to have been planted elsewhere in Europe, from about 1650. Then it was mostly grown as an unusual curiosity in the gardens of the rich, sometimes together with the Occidental or American plane. It is believed that a group of hybrids derived from crosses between these two species occurred in about the mid 17th century. It is often claimed that this occurred in Britain, and the Oxford University Botanic Garden is generally said to be the location. Other opinion is that it occurred first in southern Europe, where certainly both species would have occurred more frequently. In any case, the first of these hybrid trees are recorded from England by about 1680.

Of Oriental planes in London, the oldest known is one at Osterley Park, dated to 1759, and one at Kew Gardens, of similar age. Many younger ones can be found across the city, though much less frequently than the hybrid planes. There are very few known trees of the Occidental plane.

The oldest living hybrids, i.e. the London planes emerged from the 17th century onward. They are known to go back in the capital as far as the later 18th century and perhaps earlier. They include some trees at Kew Gardens, which are dated to the 1770s (Bean). The tree at Barn Elms Recreation Grounds, and the one by the Sutton Ecology Centre at Carshalton are probably also from the late 18th century. A few other trees exist in London that may be comparable in age.

Most of the remaining trees were planted when new parks, squares and streets were developed and constructed during and after the industrial revolution, i.e., from the 19th century and later.

Tree plantings today

Most planes seen now are varieties of the hybrid plane. In the 19th century these hybrids became the dominant tree on the streets of the city due to their vigorous growth, and their tolerance of the then prevalent industrial pollution, hence their common name, 'London plane'. Both wild and selected forms of the oriental plane are also grown, but much less commonly.

Trees in parks are sometimes grown as single specimens. However a common use was as avenue trees and lines of boundary trees. Some of the largest and best avenues can be seen now in the central London Royal Parks, in particular the eastern boundary of Hyde Park alongside Park Lane, and along the south carriage drive in Kensington Gardens between Princes Gate and the Albert memorial. Other similar plantings in other parks have generally not reached the impressive size of the preceding examples, but good avenues and rows can be found in many places within and near London.

The proportion of planes as street trees varies across London, with more specimens of other species in outer London. However it can be estimated that about a tenth of all street trees in Greater London are planes. The tree can though grow too large for most roads and then will usually be pruned heavily. Often the pruning is to the typical 'lollipop' shapes that most residents will be familiar with (pollarded trees). In many places though, a more sympathetic pruning is carried out that leaves the tree looking more natural.

Planes have also been planted in other public and communal areas. Central London's squares are dominated by them. They are also fairly common in parks, housing estates, schools, and other institutional grounds. In some areas, and especially in inner London, a few trees can be found in private gardens.

They are still planted frequently, being reliable and easy to establish and maintain. Their use along roads is being gradually reduced in favour of smaller trees and today more frequently for native trees. The planes however still retain their advantage in polluted air and often also in difficult soil conditions. They may have a further advantage if the climate warms further. However they can suffer from several diseases. Many of these are mild but some appear to show potential to develop destructive strains that could seriously affect the tree stock.

Oldest and notable trees

A very few of the most noteworthy trees in the capital are described here.

• The Osterley Park Oriental Plane. This is about 25 metres to the north of the western corner of the house. It is said to date from 1755, thus making it 265 years old in 2020. However is not as large as may be expected for that age.

 

• Kew Gardens Oriental Plane, 30 metres to the west of the Orangery. This is said to date before 1763, making its age 258 in 2020. It is a large spreading specimen but is not especially tall.

 

• The Barn Elms tree, a huge hybrid plane of uncertain age, at least the mid 18th century. It has been supposed sometimes that it is of similar age to the country's oldest plane tree at the Bishop's Palace, Ely, which is said to be from 1674.
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Large trees

Most varieties form large trees, though they may differ somewhat in ultimate size. As most of the hybrid trees have probably not reached old age yet, the ultimate sizes are not yet known. Alan Mitchell (in 'Field Guide to the trees of Britain and Northern Europe') suggests that as planes around 300 years old are still in full vigour, plane trees are likely to grow to be the biggest trees in southern Britain in the future.

Almost all of the largest in London are of the hybrid London plane. Many of these are in central London, especially in the Royal Parks and in some of the old city squares. Trees elsewhere include the Barn Elms Plane, a tree near the Ecology Centre at Carshalton, some trees in Ravensbury Park (Morden), and several in Kew Gardens. Heights of some of these exceed 40 meters, and they form the largest trees in the capital.

Some of the largest trees owe their great size not just to their age, but because of their good growing situations. A number are near water or in wet soils, corresponding to the preferred riverine habitat of both parents. As a result, the pattern of occurrence of large trees in outer London follows its rivers and streams to some extent; witness the concentration of such trees close to the Thames in Richmond, Kew and Barnes, and along the river Wandle from Carshalton through Morden.

The following is a short selection of noteworthy large trees.

• The Barn Elms Plane mentioned above as it is known to be one of the oldest trees, is also one of the largest.
• The Carshalton Plane is one of those that claims to be the largest and / or tallest in London.
• In the churchyard of St. Mary Magdelene, Holloway is a very large tree, notable for its girth. It is of the clone 'Pyramidalis', and like most of them is not especially tall.
• The 'Kelsey Park tree' in Beckenham, notable for its large girth. There are several significantly tall trees elsewhere in this park. All these grow close to the water.
• There are a number of tall growing planes in Ravensbury Park, Mitcham, close to the river Wandle.
• 'The Three Sisters', a group of closely spaced trees, beside the Thames at Petersham. There are several other large trees elsewhere along this stretch of river between Petersham and Richmond, especially on the south / west side.

What may be the largest plane tree in Britain is about a hundred miles out of London, the Great Plane, at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire. It is likely that this tree's massive trunk is due to two adjacent trees fusing together. It had a girth of 12.4m at 1.3m height in 2018, and a height of 36m.The tallest tree in the country is much further away, at Bryanston School in Dorset, 49.67m high in 2015 (measurements from Monumental Trees in April 2021).

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21-October-2022