Acer campestre

Acer Campestre is a species of flowering plants in the Sapindaceae family. It is a native of many parts of Europe, Britain and southwest Asia, including Turkey, the Caucasus, and North Africa’s Atlas Mountains. It is widely planted and introduced to areas outside its natural range in Europe, the USA, and Western Australia that have suitable climate.

Description

It is a deciduous tree reaching 15-25 m (49-82 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter, with finely fissured, often somewhat corky bark. The shoots are brown, with dark brown winter buds. The leaves come in opposite pairs and measure 5-16 cm (2.0-6.9 in) in length, including the 3-9 cm (1.2-3.3.5 in) petiole, and 5-10cm (2.0-3.9in) wide. They have five blunt, rounded, smooth margins, and five lobes. Usually monoecious, the flowers are produced in spring at the same time as the leaves open, yellow-green, in erect clusters 4-6 cm (1.6-2.4 in) across, and are insect-pollinated. The fruit is a samara with two winged achenes aligned at 180deg, each achene is 8-10 mm (0.31-0.39 in) wide, flat, with a 2 cm (0.79 in) wing.

The two varieties, not accepted as distinct by all authorities, are:

The closely related Acer miyabei replaces it in eastern Asia.

Bonsai

Acer campestre (and the similar A. monspessulanum) are popular among bonsai enthusiasts. This is where the dwarf cultivar, Microphyllum, comes in handy. A.campestre bonsai display a different appearance than those from other maples like A. palmatum which have more translucent and frilly leaves. The shrubby habit and smallish leaves of A. campestre respond well to techniques encouraging ramification and leaf reduction.

Cultivation

The 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, flooring, wood turning and musical instruments, though the small size of the tree and its relatively slow growth make it an unimportant wood. It has an OPALS rating of 7.

It is locally naturalised in parts of the United States and more rarely in New Zealand.
The hybrid maple Acer x zoeschense has A. campestre as one of its parents.

The tree has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Cultivars

Over 30 cultivars of Acer campestre are known, selected for their foliage or habit, or occasionally both; several have been lost to cultivation.

Distribution

The native range of field maple includes much of Europe, including Denmark, Poland and Belarus, England north to southern Scotland (where it is the only native maple), southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. In many areas, the original native range is obscured by widespread planting and introductions. In North America it is known as hedge maple and in Australia, it is sometimes called common maple. In Nottinghamshire, England it was known locally as dog oak.

Ecology

Field maple is an intermediate species in the ecological 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 can be found most often in neutral to alkaline soils but is less common in acidic soils.

A leaf spot fungus Didymosporina arcuata, a mildew Uncinula bicornis and a canker Neotria galligena are some examples of diseases. Verticillium wilt verticillium alboatrum is another example. Gall mites from the genus Aceria and the aphid Periphyllus villus can sometimes cause damage to the leaves.