![]() A few, such as Acer laevigatum (Nepal maple) and Acer carpinifolium (Hornbeam maple), have pinnately-veined simple leaves.Īcer rubrum (Red maple) flowers The flowers are regular, pentamerous, and borne in racemes, corymbs, or umbels. One species, Acer negundo (Box-elder), has pinnately compound leaves that may be simply trifoliate or may have five, seven, or rarely nine leaflets. Several species, including Acer griseum (Paperbark maple) Acer mandshuricum (Manchurian maple) Acer maximowiczianum (Nikko maple) and Acer triflorum (Three-flowered maple), have trifoliate leaves. A small number of species differ in having palmate compound, pinnate compound, pinnate veined or unlobed leaves. The leaves in most species are palmate veined and lobed, with 3 to 9 (rarely to 13) veins each leading to a lobe, one of which is central or apical. Īcer circinatum (Vine maple) leaves showing the palmate veining typical of most species Maples are distinguished by opposite leaf arrangement. A few species, notably Acer cappadocicum, frequently produce root sprouts, which can develop into clonal colonies. Most are shade-tolerant when young, and are often late-successional in ecology many of the root systems are typically dense and fibrous. Most species are deciduous, but a few in southern Asia and the Mediterranean region are evergreen. Others are shrubs less than 10 metres tall with a number of small trunks originating at ground level. Morphology Acer saccharum (Sugar maple) Most maples are trees growing to 10 – 45 metres (30 – 145 ft) in height. Since 1965, a stylized maple leaf has been featured on the flag of Canada. ![]() It was first applied to the genus by the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in 1700. The word Acer is derived from a Latin word meaning "sharp" (compare "acerbic"), referring to the characteristic points on maple leaves. Fifty four species of maples meet the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria for being under threat of extinction in their native habitat. Only one species, the poorly studied Acer laurinum, is native to the Southern Hemisphere. ![]() There are approximately 129 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. The type species of the genus is Acer pseudoplatanus (Sycamore maple). Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae. Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. ![]()
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