''Acer'' × ''freemanii'', Freeman maple or Freeman's maple, is a naturally occurring hybrid
maple
''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
that is the result of a cross between ''
Acer rubrum'' (red maple) and ''
Acer saccharinum
''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canad ...
'' (silver maple). Wild specimens are found in eastern North America where the parent species overlap. The species is named for Oliver M. Freeman of the
U.S. National Arboretum who hybridized ''A. rubrum'' with ''A. saccharinum'' in 1933. The fall foliage is a striking orange-red. It has many commercially available cultivars and is frequently used as a
street tree
Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in Urban area, urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming of ...
.
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Cultivars
The cultivars are typically deliberately hybridized and
selected in nurseries, not drawn from the wild specimens. Usually infertile (a desirable trait in cultivated maples), they have stronger branch attachments than silver maples and faster growth rates than red maples.
* 'Armstrong', with a more yellow fall foliage
* Autumn Fantasy
* 'Celzam', trade name
* Firefall
* 'Jeffersred', trade name , recipient of the
RHS's
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
It includes the full range of cultivated p ...
* 'Marmo', which does not produce seeds
* 'Morgan' trade name
* 'Scarsen', trade name
* Sienna Glen
Description
Even high-powered morphometric analyses of leaf shape cannot easily distinguish ''Acer × freemanii'' individuals from the parent species.
All that can be said is that ''Acer × freemanii'' is generally intermediate between the parents.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acer freemanii
freemanii
Interspecific plant hybrids
Ornamental plant cultivars
Ornamental trees
Plants described in 1969