Acer maximowiczianum
Branch with leaves in autumn colors
The Nikko maple ( Acer maximowiczianum ) is a small tree of the genus of the maples in the family of Soapberry ( Sapindaceae ). The natural range is in Japan and China.
Description
The Nikko Maple is a 10 to 12 meters high, dioecious tree with flattened crown, gray bark and up to the second year densely brownish pubescent young shoots. The leaves are trifoliate, the leaflets are 7-14 inches long and 3-6 inches wide, thickish almost leathery, ovate to oblong -elliptic, acute, entire or with up to 10 teeth on each side cut significantly kerbig. The middle leaflet is short-stalked, the lateral leaflets are nearly sessile. The top is dark gray-green, the underside bluish white and hairy shaggy. The petiole is hairy 2 to 4 inches long and dense brownish. The leafing out late and are colored scarlet in autumn. The yellowish-green, five petals are short -stalked in groups of three in, hairy tufts. They bloom in May. The yellowish brown fruits are 3 to 4.5 inches long, hairy thick and densely bristly. The wing is a right angle spread and strongly bent inward. They ripen in September.
Distribution and ecology
The distribution area is located on the Japanese islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku, and in the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Jiangxi and Zhejiang. The species grows in 1000 m to 1800 m altitude in cool damp forests, on fresh to moist, well drained, moderately nutrient-rich, acidic to neutral, sandy or gravelly - rich soils in light to partial shade. However, the type is not compatible heat- hardy. It is sensitive to a higher lime content.
Systematics and history of research
The Nikko maple ( Acer maximowiczianum ) is a species of the genus maples ( Acer) in the family of Soapberry ( Sapindaceae ). There he is assigned to the section Trifoliata series Grisea. The first description was in 1867 by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel in the Archives Neerlandaises des Sciences Naturelles et Exactes. A synonym used in the Flora of China, Acer is nikoense Maximowicz.
Use
The species is rarely used due to their impressive autumn color as ornamental tree.