buttonwood

3 definitions found

buttonwood - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Plane \Plane\, n. [F., fr. L. platanus, Gr. ?, fr. ? broad; --
     so called on account of its broad leaves and spreading form.
     See Place, and cf. Platane, Plantain the tree.] (Bot.)
     Any tree of the genus Platanus.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) is a native
           of Asia. It rises with a straight, smooth, branching
           stem to a great height, with palmated leaves, and long
           pendulous peduncles, sustaining several heads of small
           close-sitting flowers. The seeds are downy, and
           collected into round, rough, hard balls. The Occidental
           plane (Platanus occidentalis), which grows to a great
           height, is a native of North America, where it is
           popularly called sycamore, buttonwood, and
           buttonball, names also applied to the California
           species (Platanus racemosa).
           [1913 Webster]

  Buttonwood \But"ton*wood`\, n. (Bot.)
     The Platanus occidentalis, or American plane tree, a large
     tree, producing rough balls, from which it is named; --
     called also buttonball tree, and, in some parts of the
     United States, sycamore. The California buttonwood is
     Platanus racemosa.
     [1913 Webster]

buttonwood - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  buttonwood
      n 1: very large spreading plane tree of eastern and central
           North America to Mexico [syn: American sycamore,
           American plane, buttonwood, Platanus occidentalis]