#30 NORWAY MAPLE
Acer platanoides
Planted: 1928
This tree is at the south end of the American Section, near the Park Drive Fence.
| Distribution: | Native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia. Naturalised in many U.S. states but considered invasive in some states, and has been banned for sale in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. |
| Planting Date: | 1928, purchased from James Smith (Scotland Nurseries), Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. |
| Growth Habit: | A deciduous tree with a broad, rounded crown. |
| Bark: | 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. |
| Leaf: | The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed, with five lobes, 7 to 14 cm long and 8 to 25 cm across. The lobes each bear one to three side teeth, and an otherwise smooth margin. The leaf petoile is 8 to 20 cm long, and secretes a milky juice when broken. The autumn colour is usually yellow, occasionally orange-red. |
| Flowers: | The winter buds are shiny red-brown. The flowers are in corymbs of 15 to 30 together. Yellow to yellow-green with five sepals and five petals 3 to 4 mm long. Flowering occurs in early spring before the new leaves emerge. |
| Fruit: | The fruit is a double samara each with two winged seeds. The seeds are disc-shaped, strongly flattened, 10 to 15 mm across and 3 mm thick. The wings are 3 to 5 cm long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle. Produces a large quantity of viable seeds. |
| Toxicity: | It has a dense, shallow root system, which releases poisonous chemicals into the soil that kill other plants. |
| Potential tree size | 20 to 30 m tall with a girth up to 4.7 m. |
| Uses: | The wood is hard, yellowish-white to pale reddish, with the heartwood not distinct. It is used for furniture and woodturning. |
| Plant Hunter: | Not known |
| Introduction Date: | 17th Century |
| Anecdotes and Comments: | It has been theorised that the Norway maple got its name because it was introduced to Western Europe and Britain via Norway, in the 17th century. At the time, Norway was an important centre for the trade of forestry products, and the theory goes that the tree found its way to Norway from Eastern Europe for that reason. Under ideal conditions, in its native range, trees may live up to 250 years, but often has a much shorter life expectancy; sometimes only 60 years when used on streets. |
