Acer griseum
{{Short description|Species of maple}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Paperbark maple
|image = Acer griseum Morton 836-58-7.jpg
|image_caption = Acer griseum at the Morton Arboretum
Accession 836-58-7
|status = EN
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|genus = Acer
|display_parents = 2
|parent = Acer ser. Grisea
|species = griseum
|authority = (Franch.) Pax 1902
|synonyms =
- Acer nikoense var. griseum Franch.
- Acer pedunculatum K.S.Hao
- Crula grisea (Franch.) Nieuwl.
}}
{{Infobox Chinese|s=血皮枫|t=血皮楓|p=xuèpífēng|l=blood-bark maple}}
Acer griseum, the paperbark maple or blood-bark maple,{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/this-unique-tree-is-vastly-underappreciated--and-its-dying-out/2016/07/12/c665594e-4469-11e6-88d0-6adee48be8bc_story.html |title=This distinctive tree is vastly underappreciated — and it's dying out |date=2016-07-13 |orig-date=2016-07-12 |author1=Adrian Higgins |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to central China.Flora of China (draft): [https://web.archive.org/web/20060209210809/http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume11/Aceraceae-AGH_coauthoring.htm Acer griseum] Acer griseum is found in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Sichuan, at altitudes of {{convert|1500|-|2000|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.
Description
It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching {{convert|6|-|9|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|5|-|6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} wide, with a trunk up to {{convert|70|cm|0|abbr=on}} in circumference.{{Cite web|url=http://www.maple-trees.com/pages/paperbark-maple.php|title=Paperbark Maple - Acer griseum|website=www.maple-trees.com|access-date=2009-05-25|archive-date=2024-05-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527120928/http://www.maple-trees.com/pages/paperbark-maple.php|url-status=live}} The bark is smooth, shiny orange-red, peeling in thin, papery layers; it may become fissured in old trees. The shoots are densely downy at first, this wearing off by the second or third year and the bark exfoliating by the third or fourth year.
The leaves are compound, with a 2–4 cm petiole with three leaflets, each 3–10 cm long and 2–6 cm broad, dark green above, bright glaucous blue-green beneath, with several blunt teeth on the margins.
The yellow flowers are androdioecious, produced in small pendent corymbs in spring, the fruit being a paired samara with two winged seeds about 1 cm long with a 3 cm wing.Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins {{ISBN|0-00-220013-9}}.{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1405332965|pages=1136}}
Cultivation and uses
Acer griseum was introduced to cultivation in Europe in 1901 by Ernest Henry Wilson for the Veitch Nurseries in the UK, and to North America shortly after. It is one of many species of maples widely grown as ornamental plants in temperate regions. It is admired for its decorative exfoliating bark, translucent pieces of which often stay attached to the branches until worn away. It also has spectacular autumn foliage which can include red, orange and pink tones. Cultivars include the columnar Copper Rocket.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - Acer griseum|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/197/Acer-griseum/Details|accessdate=23 February 2020|archive-date=27 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527122016/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/197/acer-griseum/details|url-status=live}}
In 2015, the North America-China Plant Exploration Consortium (NACPEC) conducted an expedition specifically targeting Acer griseum for seed collection with the object of increasing the genetic diversity of plants in cultivation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/plant-exploration/expeditions-unveiled/2015-north-america-china-plant-exploration-consortium-nacpec-expedition-collect-acer-griseum/|title=2015 North America-China Plant Exploration Consortium (NACPEC) Expedition to collect Acer griseum|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=1 October 2019}}{{Dead link|date=March 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Propagation of Acer griseum is somewhat difficult as seeds have the same parthenocarpic tendencies as those of Acer maximowiczianum.van Gelderen, C. J., & van Gelderen, D. M. (1999). Maples for Gardens: A Color Encyclopedia.
Photo gallery
Image:Paperbark Maple, Acer Griseum.jpg|Trunk (UBC Botanical Garden)
Image:Acer griseum3.jpg|Trunk
File:At Dunham Massey 2024 024.jpg|Trunk with peeling bark
Image:Acer griseum5.jpg|Foliage and immature seeds
Image:Paperbark Maple Acer griseum Brown Seeds 2000px.jpg|Foliage and seeds
File:Acer griseum MHNT.BOT.2010.4.1.jpg|Seeds
File:Paperbark Maple Acer griseum Bark Vertical.JPG|Bark
Image:Paperbark Maple Acer griseum Bark 3008px.jpg|Bark
File:Paperbark Maple Acer griseum Branch.JPG|Bark peeling closeup
File:Paperbark Maple Acer griseum Contrast.JPG|Bark peeling only on the live branch
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons-inline}}
- Del Tredici, Peter. [http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2007-65-2-the-paperbark-maple-one-hundred-years-later.pdf "The Paperbark Maple—One Hundred Years Later."] Arnoldia 65 (2) (2007).
- Meyer, Paul W. [http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2010-68-2-paperbark-maple-acer-griseum.pdf "Paperbark Maple Acer griseum."] Arnoldia 68 (2) (2010).
{{Taxonbar|from=Q203985}}