[ noun ] very large spreading plane tree of eastern and central North America to Mexico <noun.plant>
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}.
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}.
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}).
That document was signed by 24 New York brokers and merchants, trading under a Wall Street buttonwood tree and elsewhere, who agreed to collect a minimum commission on stock sales and "give a preference" to each other in stock trading.