"platanus" × "acerifolia" was first formally described in the botanical literature by the scottish botanist william aiton in his 1789 work "hortus kewensis" as a variety of "p. orientalis". aiton described this variety with a two-word latin diagnosis, "foliis transversis", and called it the spanish plane tree. in 1805, carl ludwig willdenow chose to elevate aiton's variety to species rank, publishing the new species "p. acerifolia" in the fourth edition of "species plantarum". the species name was then modified to include the multiplication symbol to indicate its suspected hybrid parentage. the other name commonly used for this taxon, "platanus" × "hispanica" auct. non mill. ex münchh., is a "nomen dubium" based on an uncertain description.