Woody Plants Group 1a

Woody Plants Ia Fall 2004

• Acer ginnala• Acer glabrum

• Acer griseum• Acer negundo • Acer palmatum• Acer tataricum

• Amur Maple• Rocky Mountain

Maple• Paperbark Maple• Boxelder• Japanese Maple• Tartarian Maple

Acer ginnala Amur Maple

• ID Features

• leaf shape distinctive for a maple

• persistent samaras

• terminal bud absent

• buds rest on a small shelf

• Probably chlorotic

• Usually grown as a shrub

Landscape Uses

• small specimen or patio tree

• containers

• hedges or screens

• groupings or mini-groves

Liabilities

• can get verticillium wilt

• unwanted seedlings can be problematic

• persistent samaras; may be objectionable

• Chlorosis in our soils

Flowers

• Yellow

• Slightly fragrant

Fruit

• Some red

Twig

Acer glabrum Rocky Mountain Maple

http://www.wsu.edu/%7Elohr/wcl/trees/acerglab/wacgldes.html

Acer glabrum Rocky Mountain Maple

• Leaf: Opposite, with lobed and serrate leaf margins. Varying widely across its range. In the north simple with 3-5 lobes. In the south with deeper sinuses and occasionally compound with three leaflets.

• Flower: Usually monoecious; yellow-green in small clusters. • Fruit: Two-winged samaras, one inch long, hanging in clusters and dry when

mature. • Twig: Slender, pale green to red. Buds are red and pointed. • Bark: Thin, tight, smooth and gray. • Form: A small tree with slender, spreading branches and generally poor form,

usually low branching• pH: 5 to 7

Height: 1 to 12 [m]Width: 1 to 5 [m]USDA: 5 to 10 Rainfall: 95 to 245 [cm]

Acer griseumPaperbark Maple

• Height 25’ Spread 20’

• Medium water

• Upright spreading, rounded crown

• Leaf- trifoliate, compound, dark green

• Red fall color

• Exfoliating orange-brown to cinnamon brown bark

Acer negundo

ID Acer negundo

• pinnately compound leaves resemble those of Fraxinus, but leaflets are irregularly shaped

• green twigs with reddish brown upper surface have waxy bloom that can be rubbed off

• broken twig has a strong, acrid smell • buds covered with silky white hairs • white, solid pith in twigs

Acer palmatum Japanese Maple

• Height 15-20 Spread 15-25

• High water needs

• Upright spreading, shrubby

• Purple red, very narrow lobed leaves

• Fall color orange-yellow

• Won’t grow here – put in containers

Acer palmatum ID

• 5 to 9 palmately-lobed, dissected leaves • twig bark color of red and green • twigs glabrous; Acer japonicum twigs may

be slightly pubescent with long hairs • terminal bud absent • bud bases surrounded by a hairy, papery

sheath, giving the appearance of a hula skirt around the buds

Acer tataricum

• Height: 15’ Crown Spread: 10’ Growth Rate: slow Flowers: Fragrant and pale yellow, but visually unremarkable Foliage: three-lobed leaves turn yellow to deep red in fall Fruit: samaras (winged fruit) which turn bright red Soil: tolerates most well-drained soils but is subject to chlorosis (yellowing from lack of iron) in highly alkaline soil (ph above 7.5) Water: medium Sun: better fall colors w/full sun Problems: sapsuckers, leaf spot, heavy seeder, needs pruning to develop into a single-stemmed tree Comments: Can take heavy pruning, makes a good screen if thickly planted. Street Tree: Suitable if pruned to single stem

http://salidatreeboard.com/book/maple.html

• This ornamental tree is native to northern China and Japan and prized here for its tolerance to cold and the spectacular red color of its leaves in fall. Like all maples, it needs deep watering in summer to keep its canopy from browning at the edges due to drought, and watering during dry spells in winter to avoid branch dieback

ID by Leaf

ID by Fruit

ID by Bark