Snakebark maple
Encyclopedia
Snakebark maples are maple
s belong to the taxonomic
section
Acer sect. Macrantha. The section includes 18–21 species, and is restricted to eastern Asia
(the eastern Himalaya east to Japan
) with the exception of one species in eastern North America
.
The various species of snakebark maples are most easily distinguished from other maples by their distinctive bark
, smooth (at least on young trees), and usually patterned with vertical dark green to greenish-brown stripes alternating with stripes of light green, pinkish or white, sometimes with a bluish tone. Other characters include stalked bud
s with just one pair of scales, and flower
s on arching to pendulous raceme
s. The samaras
are small, and often numerous. They are small deciduous trees, typically 5–15 m tall, rarely to 20 m tall, fast-growing when young but soon slowing down with age, and often short-lived; they typically occur as understorey trees in mountain forests, often along streamsides.
Species:
Some have good fall color with tones of reds and orange, while others tend toward a pale yellow which is less impressive. All are relatively hardy compared to many other species of maples, and many are widely cultivated as ornamental trees for their bark. Several cultivar
s and hybrids have been developed in cultivation.
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
s belong to the taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
section
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
Acer sect. Macrantha. The section includes 18–21 species, and is restricted to eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
(the eastern Himalaya east to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) with the exception of one species in eastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
, smooth (at least on young trees), and usually patterned with vertical dark green to greenish-brown stripes alternating with stripes of light green, pinkish or white, sometimes with a bluish tone. Other characters include stalked bud
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots, or may have...
s with just one pair of scales, and flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s on arching to pendulous raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s. The samaras
Samara (fruit)
A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent . It is a winged achene...
are small, and often numerous. They are small deciduous trees, typically 5–15 m tall, rarely to 20 m tall, fast-growing when young but soon slowing down with age, and often short-lived; they typically occur as understorey trees in mountain forests, often along streamsides.
Species:
- Acer capillipesAcer capillipesAcer capillipes , is a maple in the same taxonomic section as other snakebark maples such as A. pensylvanicum, A. davidii and A. rufinerve...
- Kyushu Maple, Red Snakebark Maple - Acer caudatifolium
- Acer crataegifoliumAcer crataegifoliumAcer crataegifolium , is a species of maple in the snakebark maple group, native to mountains forests of central and southern Japan, on Honshū , Kyūshū and Shikoku.It is a deciduous small tree or shrub that grows to a height of 5–10 m, with a trunk up to 30 cm diameter...
- Hawthorn-leaf Maple - Acer davidiiAcer davidiiAcer davidii , is a species of maple in the snakebark maple group. It is native to China, from Jiangsu south to Fujian and Guangdong, and west to southeastern Gansu and Yunnan....
(syn. A. grosseri, A. hersii, A. laisuense) - Père David's Maple, Hers's Maple - Acer forrestii
- Acer laxiflorum
- Acer maximowiczii - Maximowicz's Snakebark Maple
- Acer metcalfii
- Acer micranthum
- Acer morifolium
- Acer morrisonense (syn. A. rubescens)
- Acer pectinatum (syn. A. taronense)
- Acer pensylvanicum - Striped Maple, the only non-Asian species
- Acer rufinerveAcer rufinerveAcer rufinerve , is a maple in the snakebark maple group, related to Acer capillipes . It is native to mountains forests of Japan, on Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku.It is a small deciduous tree growing to a height of 8–15 m, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter...
- Redvein Maple - Acer sikkimense (syn. A. hookeri)
- Acer tschonoskii (syn. A. komarovii)
- Acer tegmentosumAcer tegmentosumAcer tegmentosum, Manchurian striped maple is a species of maple genus, which is natively found in the south of the Russian Far East , North-Eastern China and in Korea. Cold-hardy down to USDA zone 5a , height 10-15 m, characteristic greenish-grey bark with bright white stripes....
- Acer wardii
Some have good fall color with tones of reds and orange, while others tend toward a pale yellow which is less impressive. All are relatively hardy compared to many other species of maples, and many are widely cultivated as ornamental trees for their bark. Several cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s and hybrids have been developed in cultivation.