sycamore maple
Sapindaceae (Horse-chestnut family)
(Previously in Aceraceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Deciduous, spreading tree up to 30 m tall; bark scaly, various shades of brown.
Leaves:
Opposite, 7.5-18 cm wide, palmately 5-lobed, green above, grey, white or purplish below; stalks without milky juice when cut.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of long, hanging panicles.
Fruits:
Winged, in pairs, 3.3-5.0 cm long, glabrous, pairs attached in a U-shape.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Green
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Habitat and Range
Mesic forest openings in the lowland zone; rare horticultural escape in forests near UBC, and possibly elsewhere; introduced from Europe.Status Information
Taxonomic Keys
TAXONOMIC KEY TO ACER
1. Leaves pinnately compound; petals absent ..........A. negundo 2. Flowers 10-50; inflorescence racemose or in panicles; trees up to 30 m tall.
3. Leaves grey, white or purplish below, the stalks without milky juice when cut; inflorescence in long, hanging panicles; fruits glabrous ..........A. pseudoplatanus
4. Leaves lobed beyond the middle, the tips abruptly sharp-pointed; inflorescence racemose; fruits hairy ..........A. macrophyllum 2. Flowers usually less than 10; inflorescence umbellate or corymbose; plants usually shrublike and less than 10 m tall.
5. Leaves 3- to 5-lobed, glabrous to sparsely glandular short-hairy; sepals green.......... A. glabrum |