PLANE TREE

PLANE TREE
PLANE TREE (Heb. עַרְמוֹן; armon). The Oriental plane, Platanus orientalis, is indigenous to Israel and grows on the banks of rivers, especially in the north. It is one of the most beautiful of Israel's trees and is recognizable by its lofty trunk, spreading crest, and large leaves. Its Hebrew name is connected with the fact that its bark peels so that the trunk is left bare (arom). It grows also in Syria and Babylon; while sojourning with Laban in Mesopotamia, Jacob peeled "white streaks" off rods from the tree (Gen. 30:37). Ezekiel, who prophesied in Babylon, mentions it among the beautiful trees in "the garden of God" (Ezek. 31:8). The Targum (Gen. 31:37) rightly renders the word doleva ("the plane") and the Septuagint similarly has platanos. Rashi, however, identifies the armon with the chestnut, an identification which was accepted by European rabbis and by the biblical commentators, and it has been adopted in modern Hebrew. However, this identification is erroneous since the chestnut does not grow in Israel or in Mesopotamia. Beautiful plane trees are found especially on the banks of the River Dan and the River Senir, the sources of the Jordan. Particularly well known is the great plane tree at the Banias Falls which divides the falls in two. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Loew, Flora, 3 (1924), 65–67; B. Cizik, Oẓar ha-Ẓemaḥim (1943), 224ff.; J. Feliks, Olam ha-Ẓome'aḥ ha-Mikra'i (19682), 120–1; H.N. and A.L. Moldenke, Plants of the Bible (1952), 391 (index), S.V. (Jehuda Feliks)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Plane tree — (Bot.) Same as 1st {Plane}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • plane-tree — [plān′trē΄] adj. designating a family (Platanaceae, order Hamamelidales), of deciduous, dicotyledonous trees, consisting of the plane trees * * * …   Universalium

  • plane-tree — [plān′trē΄] adj. designating a family (Platanaceae, order Hamamelidales), of deciduous, dicotyledonous trees, consisting of the plane trees …   English World dictionary

  • plane tree — n a large tree with broad leaves that is often planted along streets …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • plane tree — plane ,tree noun count a tall tree with wide leaves, round flowers, and round fruit, that grows in North America, Europe, and Asia, and is often planted along streets in cities …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • plane tree — plane′ tree n. pln any of several trees of the genus Platanus, esp. P. occidentalis, the North American sycamore • Etymology: 1400–50 …   From formal English to slang

  • plane tree — n. PLANE1 …   English World dictionary

  • plane tree — noun any of several trees of the genus Platanus having thin pale bark that scales off in small plates and lobed leaves and ball shaped heads of fruits • Syn: ↑sycamore, ↑platan • Hypernyms: ↑tree • Hyponyms: ↑London plane, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • plane tree — any tree of the genus Platanus, esp. P. occidentalis, the buttonwood or sycamore of North America, having palmately lobed leaves and bark that sheds. [1400 50; late ME] * * * Any of ten species of large trees that make up the genus Platanus, sole …   Universalium

  • plane tree — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms plane tree : singular plane tree plural plane trees a tall tree with wide leaves, round flowers, and round fruit, that grows in North America, Europe, and Asia, and is often planted along streets in towns …   English dictionary

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