field maple

''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has been widely planted, and is introduced outside its native range in Europe and areas of USA and Western Australia with suitable climate.

Description

It is a deciduous tree reaching tall, with a trunk up to in diameter, with finely fissured, often somewhat corky bark. The shoots are brown, with dark brown winter buds. The leaves are in opposite pairs, long (including the petiole) and broad, with five blunt, rounded lobes with a smooth margin. Usually monoecious, the flowers are produced in spring at the same time as the leaves open, yellow-green, in erect clusters across, and are insect-pollinated. The fruit is a samara with two winged achenes aligned at 180°, each achene is wide, flat, with a wing.

The two varieties, not accepted as distinct by all authorities, are:
* ''Acer campestre'' var. ''campestre'' - downy fruit
* ''Acer campestre'' var. ''leiocarpum'' (Opiz) Wallr. (syn. ''A. campestre'' subsp. ''leiocarpum'') - hairless fruit

The closely related '' Acer miyabei'' replaces it in eastern Asia.

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.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe''. Collins Euro+Med Plantbase Project
''Acer campestre''
Flora of NW Europe
''Acer campestre''
/ref>Den virtuella floran
''Acer campestre'' distribution map
/ref> 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 is most commonly found on neutral to alkaline soils, but more rarely on acidic soil.

Diseases include a leaf spot fungus ''Didymosporina aceris'', a mildew '' Uncinula bicornis'', a canker '' Nectria galligena'', and verticillium wilt ''Verticillium alboatrum''. The leaves are also sometimes damaged by gall mites in the genus '' Aceria'', and the aphid '' Periphyllus villosus''.

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'' × ''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 both; several have been lost to cultivation.

* 'Carnival'
* 'Commodore'
* 'Compactum'
* 'Eastleigh Weeping'
* 'Elegant'
* 'Elsrijk'
* 'Evenly Red'
* 'Fastigiatum'
* 'Green Weeping'
* 'Leprechaun'
* 'Lienco'
* 'Marjolein'
* 'Nanum'
* 'Pendulum'
* 'Postelense'
* 'Pulverulentum'
* 'Punctatissimum'
* 'Puncticulatum'
* 'Queen Elisabeth'
* 'Red Shine'
* 'Royal Ruby'
* 'Ruby Glow'
* 'Schwerinii'
* 'Senator'
* 'Silver Celebration'
* 'Silver Dawn'
* 'Streetwise'
* 'Tauricum'
* 'Tomentosum'
* 'William Caldwell'
* 'Zorgvlied'

Bonsai

''Acer campestre'' (and the similar '' A. monspessulanum'') are popular among ''bonsai'' enthusiasts. The dwarf cultivar 'Microphyllum' is especially useful in this regard. ''A. campestre'' ''bonsai'' have an appearance distinct from those selected from some other maples such as '' A. palmatum'' with more frilly, translucent, leaves. The shrubby habit and smallish leaves of ''A. campestre'' respond well to techniques encouraging ramification and leaf reduction.

Gallery

Image:Acer campestre 001.jpg, Field maple leaf
Image:Acer campestre 002.jpg, Leaves and flowers
Image:Acer campestre 003.jpg, Field maple, Germany
Image:Acer campestre 004.jpg, Leaves
Image:Acer campestre 007.jpg, Foliage in spring
Image:Acer campestre 009.jpg, Field maple, Hesse, Germany
Image:Acer campestre 010.jpg, Field maple leaf
Image:Acer campestris1.jpg, Fruits
Image:Acer_campestrie_L_ag1.jpg, Field maple
Image:Acer-campestre-flowers.JPG, Field maple flowers
Image:Field maple.JPG, Field maple in autumn, France
Image:Acer campestre 006.jpg, Field maple, Germany
Image:Entzia - Acer Campestre 02.jpg, Field maple, Spain
Image:FeldahornBlatt.jpg, Leaves and inflorescence
Image:Acer-campestre.JPG, Leaves and fruits
Image:Acer campestre (4).JPG, Trunk
Image:Acer campestre Weinsberg 20070419 1.jpg, Maple field tree, Weinsberg
Image:Acer campestre 005.jpg, Leaf

References

Further reading

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{{Authority control

campestre
Flora of North Africa
Garden plants of Asia
Garden plants of Europe
Plants used in bonsai
Trees of Asia
Trees of Western Asia
Trees of Europe
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus