Paperbark Maple

Plant Characteristics

Habit		tree
Height:	⇕	40 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 40.
Width:	⇔	35 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 35.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	China
Bloom:	❀	early spring, mid spring, late spring

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	deciduous, flowers
Minimum Temp:	☃	-35°C-31 °F <br />238.15 K <br />428.67 °R <br />
USDA Zones:		4 to 8
Sunset Zones:		2-9, 14-21, 31-41

Scientific Names

Aceraceae >

Acer >

griseum >

Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple; Template:Zh) is a species of maple native to central China, in the provinces of Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Sichuan, at altitudes of 1,500–2,000 m.

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 6-9 m (20-30 ft) tall, 5-6 m (15-25 ft) wide, with a trunk up to 70 cm (2 ft) diameter. The bark is smooth, shiny orange-red, peeling in thin, papery layers; it may become fissured in old trees. The shoots are densely downy at first, this wearing off by the second or third year and the bark exfoliating by the third or fourth year. The leaves are compound, with a 2–4 cm petiole with three leaflets, each 3-10 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, dark green above, bright glaucous blue-green beneath, with several blunt teeth on the margins. The flowers are androdioecious, produced in small corymbs in spring, the fruit being a paired samara with two winged seeds about 1 cm long with a 3 cm wing.

Paperbark Maple is widely grown as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It is admired for its decorative exfoliating bark, translucent pieces of which often stay attached to the branches until worn away. It also has spectacular autumn foliage which can include red, orange and pink tones.

Recent attempts have been made to acquire new seed stock from wild populations in China because it is believed that the current gene pool of cultivated specimens is very small. Propagation of Acer griseum is somewhat difficult as seeds have the same parthenocarpic tendencies as those of Acer maximowiczianum.

Read about Paperbark Maple in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Acer griseum, Pax (A. nikoense var. griseum, Franch.). Tree, to 25 ft., with cinnamon-brown bark separating in thin flakes: branchlets pubescent: lfts. short-stalked, elliptic or ovate-oblong, 1-2 in. long, acute, coarsely toothed with large bluntish teeth, the lateral ones unequal, deeply dentate on the outer margin, entire or nearly so on the inner, glaucous and pubescent beneath; petioles densely hairy: fls. rather large, in few-fid, hairy corymbs: fr. pendulous on short stalks, with the peduncle scarcely 1/2in. long; nutlets thick, tomentose; wings spreading at an acute angle. W. China.—Remarkable for its flaky bark, resembling that of the river birch; hardy at the Arnold Arboretum. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

More information about this species can be found on the genus page.

Cultivation

Do you have cultivation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

• 

  photo 1

• 

  photo 2

• 

  photo 3

External links

• w:Paperbark Maple. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Paperbark Maple QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)