The Pen Makers Boat: #779 Now Sold

London Plane and 24ct Gold Plated Premium Twist Pen

London Plane - Platanus x acerifolia

Similar to maple, the wood of London Plane trees is predominantly comprised of the sapwood, with some darker heartwood streaks also found in most boards. Though it is not too uncommon to also see entire boards of heartwood too. The sapwood is white to light pinkish tan, while the heartwood is a darker reddish brown. London Plane also has very distinct ray flecks present on quartersawn surfaces giving it a freckled appearance and it is sometimes even called “Lacewood,” though it bears little botanical relation to the tropical species of Lacewood.

The London plane has especially fine properties as a large-growing, shade-providing urban tree. It copes well with heat and cold, wet and dry, compaction of the soil and the pollutants generated by cities. Its shiny leaves are washed off by rain and its bark flakes off in small patches to expose new bark underneath. It was widely planted in London in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The London plane probably came into being in the mid-seventeenth century as a natural hybrid of the Oriental plane, (P. orientalis), and the Western plane, (P. occidentalis), rather than being cross-bred by horticulturists. It soon became popular.

It is not known how old a London plane may become because none is known to have died of old age. The oldest trees of this species date from 1660's and the tallest London plane has achieved 48.5 metres in height; the tallest London planes in London have reached 30-35 metres.

Pen #779 was turned on 6th April 2017 at Bugbrooke on the Grand Union Canal.