Acer platanoides

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Not to be confused with Acer pseudoplatanus.
Acer platanoides
Norway Maple leaves
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae[1]
Genus: Acer
Species: A. platanoides
Binomial name
Acer platanoides
L.
Native Distribution

Acer platanoides (Norway maple) is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and southwest Asia, from France east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran.[2][3]

Contents

Description[edit]

It is a deciduous tree, growing to 20–30 m (66–98 ft) tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) in diameter, and a broad, rounded crown. The bark is grey-brown and shallowly grooved; unlike many other maples, mature trees do not tend to develop a shaggy bark. The shoots are green at first, soon becoming pale brown; the winter buds are shiny red-brown.

The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with five lobes, 7–14 cm (2.8–5.5 in) long and 8–20 cm (3.1–7.9 in) (rarely 25 cm (9.8 in)) across; the lobes each bear one to three side teeth, and an otherwise smooth margin. The leaf petiole is 8–20 cm (3.1–7.9 in) long, and secretes a milky juice when broken. The autumn colour is usually yellow, occasionally orange-red.

The flowers are in corymbs of 15–30 together, yellow to yellow-green with five sepals and five petals 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long; flowering occurs in early spring before the new leaves emerge. The fruit is a double samara with two winged seeds; the seeds are disc-shaped, strongly flattened, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) across and 3 mm (0.12 in) thick. The wings are 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle. It typically produces a large quantity of viable seeds.

It is not particularly a long-lived tree, with a maximum age of around 250 years.[4][5][6][7]

Classification and identification[edit]

Norway Maple bark

The Norway maple is a member (and is the type species) of the section Platanoidea Pax, characterised by flattened, disc-shaped seeds and the shoots and leaves containing milky sap. Other related species in this section include Acer campestre (field maple), Acer cappadocicum (Cappadocian maple), Acer lobelii (Lobel's maple), and Acer truncatum (Shandong maple). From the field Maple, the Norway maple is distinguished by its larger leaves with pointed, not blunt, lobes, and from the other species by the presence of one or more teeth on all of the lobes.[4][5]

It is also frequently confused with the more distantly related Acer saccharum (sugar maple). The sugar maple is easy to identify by clear sap in the petiole (Norway maple has white sap). The tips of the points on Norway maple leaves reduce to a fine "hair", while the tips of the points on sugar maple leaves are, on close inspection, rounded. On mature trees, sugar maple bark is more shaggy, while Norway maple bark has small, often criss-crossing grooves. While the shape and angle of leaf lobes vary somewhat within all maple species, the leaf lobes of Norway maple tend to have a more triangular shape, in contrast to the more squarish lobes often seen on sugar maples. The seeds of sugar maple are globose, while Norway maple seeds are flattened. The sugar maple usually has a brighter orange autumn color, where the Norway maple is usually yellow, although some of the red-leaved cultivars appear more orange.

The tree tends to leaf out earlier than most maples and holds its leaves somewhat longer in autumn. Seeds begin forming in mid-spring and ripen over the course of the summer months, finally dropping in the fall. Unlike some other maples that wait for the soil to warm up, A. platanoides seeds require only three months of exposure to sub-40°F temperatures and will sprout in early spring. The heavy seed crop and high germination rate contributes to its invasiveness in North America.[4][5]

Cultivation and uses[edit]

Leaf of 'Schwedleri'.

The wood is hard, yellowish-white to pale reddish, with the heartwood not distinct; it is used for furniture and turnery.[8]

Norway maple has been widely placed into cultivation in other areas, including western Europe northwest of its native range. It grows north of the Arctic Circle at Tromsø, Norway. In North America, it is grown as a street and shade tree as far north as Anchorage, Alaska.[9] It is favored due to its tall trunk and tolerance of poor, compacted soils and urban pollution, conditions that native maples cannot grow in. Because of Norway Maple's invasive nature, it has been recommended that American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) be used instead as a pollution-tolerant native tree.

It has become a popular species for bonsai in Europe and is used for medium to large bonsai sizes and a multitude of styles.[10]

Cultivars[edit]

Many cultivars have been selected for distinctive leaf shapes or colourations, such as the dark purple of 'Crimson King' and 'Schwedleri', the variegated leaves of 'Drummondii', the light green of 'Emerald Queen', and the deeply divided, feathery leaves of 'Dissectum' and 'Lorbergii'. The purple-foliage cultivars have orange to red autumn colour. 'Columnare' is selected for its narrow upright growth.[5][11]

Both A. platanoides[12] and its cultivar, "Crimson King"[13] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

As an invasive species in North America[edit]

The roots of Norway maples grow very close to the ground surface, starving other plants of moisture. For example, lawn grass (and even weeds) will usually not grow well beneath a Norway maple, but English Ivy, with its minimal rooting needs, may thrive. In addition, the dense canopy of Norway maples can inhibit understory growth.[14] Some have suggested Norway maples may also release chemicals to discourage undergrowth,[15] although this is controversial.[14]

A. platanoides has been shown to inhibit the growth of native saplings as a canopy tree or as a sapling.[14] The Norway maple also suffers less herbivory than the sugar maple, allowing it to gain a competitive advantage against the latter species.[16]

As a result of these characteristics, it is considered invasive in some states,[17] and has been banned in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.[18][19] The State of New York has classified it as an invasive plant species.[20]

The Norway maple is one of three species Meijer Garden Centers no longer sell; Meijer made this decision due to the tree's invasive nature.[21] Despite these steps, the species is still available and widely used for urban plantings in many areas.

Natural enemies[edit]

The Norway maple is threatened in a few areas by the Asian long-horned beetle, which eats through the trunks, often killing the trees.

A number of species of Lepidoptera feed on Norway maple foliage. Norway maple is generally free of serious diseases, though can be attacked by the powdery mildew Uncinula bicornis, and verticillium wilt disease caused by Verticillium spp.[22] "Tar spots" caused by Rhytisma acerinum infection are common but largely harmless.[23]

Gallery[edit]

  • A mature tree in Belgium, with exceptionally rough bark for this species

  • An example of orange-red fall colour; few trees produce such a rich colour, but are dull yellow at best

  • Tree in flower

  • Flower, close-up

  • Foliage and fruit; the fruit are an important characteristic for identification of this species

  • Fruit (samara): note the flat seed capsule and the angle of the "wings"

  • Acer platanoides cv. Schwedleri

References[edit]

  1. ^ Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 [and more or less continuously updated since]. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/.
  2. ^ Flora Europaea: Acer platanoides distribution
  3. ^ Den virtuella floran: Acer platanoides distribution
  4. ^ a b c Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
  5. ^ a b c d Mitchell, A. F. (1974). A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-212035-6
  6. ^ Mitchell, A. F. (1982). The Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-219037-0
  7. ^ Norwegian Botanical Association: Acer platanoides photos
  8. ^ Vedel, H., & Lange, J. (1960). Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow. Metheun & Co. Ltd., London.
  9. ^ http://treesneartheirlimitsalaska.blogspot.com/
  10. ^ D'Cruz, Mark. "Ma-Ke Bonsai Care Guide for Acer platanoides". Ma-Ke Bonsai. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
  11. ^ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
  12. ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=37
  13. ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=38
  14. ^ a b c Shannon L. Galbraith-Kent and Steven N. Handel (2008). "Invasive Acer platanoides inhibits native sapling growth in forest understorey communities". Journal of Ecology 96 (2): 293–302. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2007.01337.x. 
  15. ^ http://www.toronto.ca/trees/pdfs/Fact_3_Controlling_Invasive_Plants.pdf
  16. ^ C. L. Cincotta, J. M. Adams, C. Holzapfel (2009). "Testing the enemy release hypothesis: a comparison of foliar insect herbivory of the exotic Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) and the native sugar maple (A. saccharum L.)". Biological Invasions. 
  17. ^ Swearingen, J., Reshetiloff, K., Slattery, B., & Zwicker, S. (2002). "Norway Maple". Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 
  18. ^ Carol Ness. "Norway Maple". Virginia Cooperative Extension. 
  19. ^ Sally Kerans (May 31, 2007). "Invasive plants: Old standards get bad name". Danvers Herald. 
  20. ^ "Interim List of Invasive Plant Species in New York State". Advisory Invasive Plant List. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved 1 June 2013. 
  21. ^ The Nature Conservancy. "The Nature Conservancy and Meijer Encourage Non-Invasive Plants". The Nature Conservancy. 
  22. ^ Phillips, D. H., & Burdekin, D. A. (1992). Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-49493-8.
  23. ^ Hudler, George (1998). Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 248. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Acer platanoides
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acer_platanoides&oldid=558909841"