like other plane trees, its leaves are borne alternately on the stem, deeply lobed, and palmate or maple-like. it usually has flaking bark, occasionally not flaking and becoming thick and rugged. flowers and fruit are round and burr-like, borne in clusters of between 2 and 6 on a stem. considerable variation exists among trees in the wild, and this may be complicated by crossbreeding with planted london planes ("platanus x acerifolia"), the hybrid of "p. orientalis" with the american sycamore ("platanus occidentalis").