Like other Plane trees, its leaves are alternately borne on the stem, deeply lobed, and usually palmate or maple-like. It usually has flaking bark, occasionally not flaking and becoming thick and rugged. Flowers and fruit are round and burr like, borne in clusters of between 2 and 6 on a stem. Considerable variation exists among trees in the wild, and this may be complicated by crossbreeding with the so-called London Plane or Platanus x acerifolia, a hybrid of P. orientalis with the American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis).
It is reputed to be the tree under which Hippocrates taught medicine at Kos. Some medicinal properties are ascribed to its leaves. The timber, often called lacewood, is figured and valuable for indoor furniture.
It is capable of being grown in most temperate latitudes, though it benefits greatly from warm summers.