Norway maple
Sapindaceae (Horse-chestnut family)
(Previously in Aceraceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Deciduous, spreading tree up to 30 m tall; bark more or less smooth, greyish.
Leaves:
Opposite, 10-25 cm wide, palmately 5- to 7-lobed but not beyond the middle, green, the tips bristlelike; stalks with milky juice when cut.
Flowers:
Inflorescence in stiff, more or less erect panicles with male and female flowers on the same plant.
Fruits:
Winged, in pairs, 3.5-5 cm long, glabrous, pairs widely spread, almost flat.
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Early Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Habitat and Range
Mesic forest openings in the lowland or montane zones; rare horticultural escape in forests near urban areas in S BC; introduced from Europe.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Acer platanoides var. schwedleri G. Nicholson
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 |