| General Information |
| Common Name | Norway Maple |
| Scientific Name | Acer platanoides |
| Sun Tolerance | Full Sun |
| Height | 20–30 m (66–98 ft) |
| Spread | 9–13 m (30–45 ft) |
| Growth Rate | Moderate |
| Bloom Time | Spring |
| Color | Green, Orange |
| Flower Color | Green |
| Type | Tree |
| Native | Europe, northwest Asia and north USA |
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| Classification |
| Kingdom | Plantae – Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta – Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
| Division | Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants |
| Class | Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons |
| Subclass | Rosidae |
| Order | Sapindales |
| Family | Aceraceae – Maple family |
| Genus | Acer L. – Maple |
| Species | A. platanoides |
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| Acer platanoides – Norway Maple |
Norway Maple scientific name Acer platanoides was introduced from Scandinavia in the seventeenth century, and has since enriched Britain’s scenery with its bright spring blossom and rich autumn foliage. In height it reaches some 98 feet.
The twigs are stout and shiny, generally tinged with red before turning brown. The small winter buds are set oppositely, and are bluntly pointed, with shiny reddish-tinged scales. The leaves when unfolding show rust-red tints. They are palatably five-lobed, sharply angled, bright green, rather shiny, with a long slender stalk which is tinged with red and contains milky sap. In autumn the leaves show a standard good yellow, and later brilliant orange-brown colors for a brief spell.
The greenish-yellow flowers of both sexes are found together in an erect or spreading inflorescence in the form of a corymbs panicle, and appear in early April before the leaves unfold. The fruit consists of two winged seeds – the well-known double ‘samara’ (or ‘keys’), set at an angle of about 1600. They are green at first, becoming brown before they spin away.
The bark is thin, dark grey to brown, with short, smooth, narrow, and shallow fissures. The wood is white or grayish, fine-textured, hard and fairly heavy. It is used for furniture and turnery goods. If cut when dormant in winter and early spring the tree freely ‘bleeds’ its sugary sap.
Foresters sometimes cultivate Norway Maple for timber, but more often their chief objective is to form with its an attractive belt around other tree-crops. Unfortunately it suffers much harm, particularly in the crown, from the grey squirrel, which is attracted be its sweet sap.
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| Acer platanoides – Norway Maple in Autumn |
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