Norway Maple - Acer platanoides L


Common name(s):  Norway maple
Scientific name:   Acer platanoides L.
Family:    Soapberry family (Sapindaceae)
Native range:  East central Europe to southwest Asia
Type: Deciduous
Non-native range:  widely planted as an urban tree in cities and parks
Average height range:  20-30 meters
Forest or habitat:  
Wood density and quality:  hard, good for furniture, color is pale-yellow to reddish.
Leaf shape:  palmate
Leaf arrangement:  Opposite
Leaf margin:  lobed, spiny (1-7 teeth-like points per lobe)
Leaf venation:  palmate
Leaf stem:  5-8 inches, 8-20 cm
Leaf surface:  glabrous (smooth, not hairy)
Inflorescence:  corymb like panicle
Flower: five sepals and five petals 3–4 mm, inconspicuous
Pollinating agents: ?
Fruit: double Samara pair
Edible?:  no
Seed description:  flattened disk-like with “wings” (samara)
Seed dispersal mechanism:  wind blown Samara
Bark:  gray-brown, grooved
Traditional uses:  ornamental, shade
Commercial uses:  furniture and wood-turning  (banister spindles etc.)
Invasiveness:  Moderate in some areas, (banned in New Hampshire and Massachusetts)
Threats: Asian long horned beetle,
Iconic or symbolic value:  Maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada and is represented on its flag.






5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 3, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Just to clarify: The sugar maple (A. saccharum) is the national symbol. Norway Maple is incredibly aggressive in natural heritage systems and is considered a weed tree despite the fact that the landscape industry still planting this species.

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  2. Australian native plantsJuly 29, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    Great landscaping tree

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  3. Brett HillmanAugust 24, 2011 at 3:00 PM

    I will never understand why this tree was planted in New England. Sugar maples are native, iconic, and much better looking. Norway maples are banned in MA and NH, but I see youngish ones (15 years or so) planted in many parking lot gardens. I just don't understand the appeal. I'm no landscaper, so does anyone know why Norway maples are favored as ornamental trees over sugar maples??

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  4. AnonymousOctober 1, 2011 at 5:40 PM

    Norway Maples are more resistant to road salt and air pollution which Sugar Maples are very sensitive to.

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2012 at 1:43 AM

    The bark in the photo looks remarkably similar to White Ash, Fraxinus americana.

    ReplyDelete