Acer platanoides – Norway Maple

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

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

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.

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple in Autumn

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple : Flowers

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple : Seeds

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple : Leaves

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple : Leaves & Seeds

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple : Log

Acer platanoides – Norway Maple

Acer campestre – Field Maple – Hedge Maple

General Information Common Name  Field Maple or Hedge Maple Scientific Name  Acer campestre Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  6 - 25 m (20 – 70 ft) Spread  6 – 10 m(20 – 30 ft) Growth Rate  Slow Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Orange Flower Color  Green Type  Tree Native  Europe, North-west Asia, North America

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. campestre

Acer campestre – Field Maple

The Field Maple is known in America Hedge Maple tree, scientific name is Acer campestre, that may attain a height of 20 to 70 feet, but is most familiar as a mere bush of the wayside or hedgerow, particularly on chalk or lime-stone formations, when displaying its colorful winged fruits, it is a very pretty tree.

The slender twigs are light brown, and after the first year may have a layer of cork that project out wards in conspicuous irregular vertical ridges. The opposite winter buds are brown, with short hairs on the scales. The leaves as they unfold are often tinged with a rosy or pinky red, and have a leaf-stalk which is usually tinged with red or brown, they are small (rarely more than 2 inches in length or breadth) and have normally five rounded lobes. They are dull green above but paler green below, and turn to a bright golden shade in autumn.

The erect, few-flowered inflorescence comprises small pale greenish-yellow flower usually of both sexes, which open in May. Their two-lobed ovary develops into a double ‘samara’ – and almost straight pair of broad-winged ‘keys’ about 0.5 – 1 inch long. With their bases joined together. In summer these ‘keys’ are often tinged with crimson, afterwards turning brown as they ripen. 

The bark is light brown, sometimes with a dull orange tinge, smooth at first but be-coming darker and furrowed with small scales which flake of. The wood is pale brown, hard, tough and strong. When sufficiently large, it is ideal for carving or for turning into bowls and platters.

Acer campestre – Field Maple : Flower and Seeds

Acer campestre – Field Maple

Acer campestre – Field Maple

Acer campestre – Field Maple

Acer campestre – Field Maple : Flowers

Acer campestre – Field Maple : Leaves

Acer campestre – Field Maple

Acer campestre – Field Maple

Acer campestre – Field Maple : Flowers