Acer campestre
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 Field Maple foliage and flowers
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| Acer campestre L. |
Acer campestre (common name Field Maple) is a maple native to much of Europe, north to southern England (where it is the only native maple), Denmark, Poland and Belarus, and also southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. Outside its range it is widely known as Hedge Maple.
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[edit] Characteristics
A. campestre is a deciduous tree reaching 15-25 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter, with finely fissured, often somewhat corky bark. The leaves are in opposite pairs, 5-12 cm long (including the 3-6 cm petiole), with five blunt, rounded lobes with a smooth margin. The flowers are produced in spring at the same time as the leaves open, yellow-green, in erect clusters 4-6 cm across. The fruit is a samara with two winged seeds aligned at 180̊, each seed 8-10 mm wide, flat, with a 2 cm wing.
There are two varieties, not accepted as distinct by all authorities:
- Acer campestre var. campestre
- Acer campestre var. leiocarpum (syn. A. campestre subsp. leiocarpum)
[edit] Ecology
Field maple is an intermediate species in the succession of disturbed areas; it typically is not among the first trees to colonise a freshly disturbed area, but instead seeds in under the existing vegetation. It is very shade-tolerant during the initial stages of its life, but it has higher light requirements during its seed-bearing years. It exhibits rapid growth initially, but is eventually overtaken and replaced by other trees as the forest matures. It is most commonly found on neutral to alkaline soils, more rarely on acidic soil.
[edit] Cultivation
Field Maple is widely grown as an ornamental tree in parks and large gardens. The wood is white, hard and strong, and used for furniture and flooring, though the small size of the tree and its relatively slow growth make it an unimportant wood.
[edit] Cultivars
Among the many cultivars of A. campestre are those with a reddish tone (like 'Red Shine' and 'Royal Ruby'), those with a golden tone (such as 'Postelense'), and variegated varieties (most notably 'Carnival'). There are also a number of cultivars selected for habit, such as the less-shrubby 'Elsrijk', the pendulous 'Green Weeping', the small and globular 'Nanum', and the almost columnar 'Queen Elizabeth'. [1]
[edit] Bonsai
Among maples not endemic to Japan, A. campestre (and the similar A. monspessulanum) are popular among bonsai enthusiasts. The dwarf cultivar 'Microphyllum' is especially useful in this regard. A. campestre bonsai have an appearance distinct from those created from maples such as A. palmatum with more frilly, translucent, leaves. The shrubby habit and smallish leaves of A. campestre respond well to techniques encouraging ramification and leaf reduction. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ van Gelderen, C.J. & van Gelderen, D.M. (1999). Maples for Gardens: A Color Encyclopedia.
- ^ [Bonsai Club International - A. campestre]
- Field maple images and diseases
- Flora Europaea: Acer campestre
- Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. HarperCollins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
- Nagy, L. & Ducci, F. (2004). EUFORGEN Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use for field maple (Acer campestre). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. Rome, Italy.
