Plane Tree

The plane tree (Hebrew 'armon, meaning "bare" or "stripped") is mentioned in two biblical contexts. In Genesis 30:37 Jacob peeled rods of plane tree (along with almond and poplar) and placed them in the watering troughs as part of his selective breeding strategy with Laban's flocks. In Ezekiel 31:8 the plane tree appears in the poetic description of Assyria's glory as like a cedar of Lebanon that surpassed the plane trees in the garden of God. The plane tree (Platanus orientalis) is common in Palestine near streams and watercourses, valued for its deep shade and striking white-patched bark. The Authorized Version renders it "chesnut tree," but the Revised Version and modern translations correctly identify it as the plane tree or Oriental plane.