Platanus orientalis

The "Tree of Hippocrates" in Kos, Greece, possibly a descendant of the original.

The Tree of Hippocrates, under which Hippocrates — the "Father of Medicine" — taught at Kos, is reputed to have been an oriental plane. A 500-year-old tree presently there may be on the same site and may have been planted from a succession of cuttings from the original. The Athenian Academy, outside Athens, featured a sacred grove of planes where the students listened to the masters and where among others the Peripatetics practiced philosophy.

Pliny's Natural History[7] records the westward progress of the plane "introduced among us from a foreign clime for nothing but its shade", planted first at the tomb of Diomedes on the island of Tremiti, then imported to Greek Sicily by Dionysius the Elder (c. 432-367 BC), tyrant of Syracuse. He had plane-trees conveyed to the city of Rhegium (Reggio di Calabria), where they were looked upon as the great marvel of his palace, according to Pliny's sources. From there it spread by the first century CE as far as the lands of the Morini in Belgic Gaul. Regardless of why it may have been introduced, the tree had medicinal uses from early times. Pliny[8] details 25 remedies using preparation from the bark, leaves and excrescences of plane. Pliny prescribes it for burns, bites, stings, frostbite and infections.

Pliny goes on to describe some legendary plane-trees.[9] There was one on the grounds of the Athenian Academy, he says, that had roots 50 feet (15 m) long. Licinius Mucianus held a banquet for 19 in a hollow plane-tree of Lycia, and the emperor Caligula another for 15 plus servants in a tree house (nest) built in the branches of a plane-tree at Velletri.

Most small villages in Greece have one or more very old planes in their central square, where the village water spring used to be (water springs are nowadays replaced by water taps from the same spring captured). Many of them are set in cavities, which are often playing and meeting points for children and teenagers, or are cared for, sometimes even illuminated, as tourist attractions.

Famous Char Chinar ("four chinar trees") island on Dal lake, Srinagar, Kashmir.

Chinar is continued to be a major garden and landscape tree and dominates many historic gardens, It is a living heritage of Kashmir. It is seen as a symbol for the region, and a part of its soul. It is a majestic tree that can be found throughout the landscape of the valley, hillsides and cities, now generally called booune in local Kashmiri and chinar by Urdu speakers.[10] For example, a famous landmark in Srinagar is an island on Dal Lake where four chinar trees stand, named Char Chinar.The tree known for its elegance and exuberance has remained an attraction for artists and litterateurs.

Kashmir Valley is the home of world’s oldest chinar tree (627 years old) which is located in village Chattergam of Budgam district, Kashmir,it is believed to be planted in 1374 A.D by an Islamic mystic Syed Abul Qaim Hamadani (RA) who accompanied Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (RA) from Iran to Kashmir, which has a girth of 31.85 m at ground level and 14.78 m at breast height.[11].[12][13]

Chinar trees are being felled rapidly in Kashmir,[14] although a recent ban has been enacted to curb cutting.[15] Chinar trees[16] are now required to be registered and are considered State Property. Registered Chinars are painted white at their base. Increased awareness means most old Chinars are protected and looked after; however, some new Chinars must be cut as their growth can cause damage to roads and houses. Chinars are considered as the symbols of the Persian influence on the heritage of Kashmir.

In 2011 a specimen planted by Capability Brown at Corsham Court in Wiltshire was identified in 2011 by The Tree Register of the British Isles as the tree with the greatest known spread in the United Kingdom.[17]

An example dating to at least 1762 is one of Kew Gardens' thirteen 'Heritage Trees'.[18]