Platanaceae is a
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
of flowering plants. It has been recognized by almost all taxonomists, and is sometimes called the "plane-tree family".
The plane-tree is referenced in Pliny the Younger's letter to Domitius Apollinaris as part of his description of his Tuscan Villa located somewhere in Tuscany in the 1st Century.
The family consists of only a single living genus
PlatanusPlatanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
, of six to ten species of tall trees, native to temperate and subtropical regions of the
Northern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
. The hybrid
London planeThe London Plane or Hybrid Plane is a tree in the genus Platanus. It is usually thought to be a hybrid of the Oriental Plane, P. orientalis, with the American Plane , P. occidentalis. Some authorities think that it may be a cultivar of P...
is widely planted in cities worldwide.
The
APG II systemA modern system of plant taxonomy, the APG II system of plant classification was published in 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, APG, in*Angiosperm Phylogeny Group . An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Botanical...
of 2003 allows the option of including it in the family
ProteaceaeProteaceae is a family of flowering plants. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it is a fairly large family, with around 80 genera but fewer than 2000 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia,...
, or treating it as distinct as a segregate family. In as far as APG II accepts the family it is placed in the order
ProtealesProteales is the botanical name of an order of flowering plants. Such an order has been recognized by almost all taxonomists.-Families:The APG II system, of 2003, also recognizes this order, and places it in the clade eudicots with this circumscription:...
, in the clade
eudicotsEudicots and Eudicotyledons are terms introduced by Doyle & Hotton to refer to a group of flowering plants that had been called "tricolpates" or "non-Magnoliid dicots" by previous authors. The term means, literally, "true dicotyledons" as it contains the majority of plants that have been...
. This represents a slight change from the
APG systemA modern system of plant taxonomy, the APG system of plant classification was published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. The system is unusual in being based, not on total evidence, but on the cladistic analysis of the DNA sequences of three genes, two chloroplast genes and one gene...
, of 1998, which did accept this family.
The
Cronquist systemA system of plant taxonomy, the Cronquist system is a scheme for the classification of flowering plants . This system was developed by Arthur Cronquist in his texts An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants and The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants .Cronquist's...
of 1981 recognized the family and placed it in order
HamamelidalesHamamelidales is the botanical name of an order of flowering plants. The Cronquist system included the order in subclass Hamamelidae with the circumscription:* order Hamamelidales*: family Hamamelidaceae*: family Cercidiphyllaceae...
, in subclass Hamamelidae [sic] in class
MagnoliopsidaMagnoliopsida is a valid botanical name for a class of flowering plants. By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its circumscription can otherwise vary, being more inclusive or less inclusive depending upon the classification system being discussed.-Cronquist and...
(dicotyledons).
The
Dahlgren systemOne of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was published by monocot specialist Rolf Dahlgren. His wife Gertrude carried on after his death.According to the extensive listing by Professor Reveal One of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was published by...
and
Thorne system (1992)A modern system of plant taxonomy, the Thorne system of plant classification was drawn up by the botanist Robert F. Thorne . He replaced it in 2000 with a new system. These two systems were published in:...
also recognized this family and placed it in the order
HamamelidalesHamamelidales is the botanical name of an order of flowering plants. The Cronquist system included the order in subclass Hamamelidae with the circumscription:* order Hamamelidales*: family Hamamelidaceae*: family Cercidiphyllaceae...
in superorder Rosanae in subclass
MagnoliidaeMagnoliidae are a group of about 9,000 species of flowering plants, including magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, and many others. They are characterized by trimerous flowers, pollen with one pore, and usually branching-veined leaves.-Classification:Traditionally,...
(dicotyledons).
The
Engler systemOne of the prime systems of plant taxonomy, the Engler system was devised by Adolf Engler.According to Engler, Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien the main groups of plants are:* I. divisio Schizophyta* II. divisio Phytosarcodina...
, in its 1964 update, also recognized the family and placed it in the order
RosalesRosales is an order of flowering plants, including nine families, the type family being the rose family Rosaceae. These nine families are those shown by the genetic analysis carried out by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group to be related to each other. Their analysis showed that the old Cronquist...
in subclass Archichlamydeae of class Dicotyledoneae.
The
Wettstein systemA system of plant taxonomy, the Wettstein system recognised the following main groups, according to* I. phylum Schizophyta*::: 1. classis Schizophyceae*::: 2. classis Schizomycetes* II. phylum Monadophyta* III. phylum Myxophyta...
, last revised in 1935, also recognized the family and placed it in the order
HamamelidalesHamamelidales is the botanical name of an order of flowering plants. The Cronquist system included the order in subclass Hamamelidae with the circumscription:* order Hamamelidales*: family Hamamelidaceae*: family Cercidiphyllaceae...
in the Monochlamydeae in subclass Choripetalae of the class Dicotyledones.
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