Norway Maple

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iNorway Maple

Norway Maple leaves

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Aceraceae
Genus:	Acer
Species:	A. platanoides

Binomial name

Acer platanoides
L.

The Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) is a maple native to eastern and central Europe and southwest Asia, from France east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran.

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It is a deciduous tree to 20-30 m tall with a broad, rounded crown and grey-brown, shallowly grooved bark; unlike many other species of maple, mature trees do not tend to develop a shaggy bark. The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with five lobes, 12-25 cm across. The leaf stems secrete a milky juice when broken. The flowers are in corymbs of 15-30 together, yellow-green with five petals 3-4 mm long; flowering occurs in early spring after 30-55 growing degree days.

The fruit is a double samara with two winged seeds, the seeds are disc-shaped, strongly flattened, 10-15 mm across and 3 mm thick. The wings are 3-5 cm long, widely spread, approaching a 180-degree angle. It typically produces a large quantity of viable seeds, a factor which contributes to its invasive character.

A number of species of Lepidoptera feed on Norway Maple foliage; see list.

[edit] Distinction from other maples

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Norway maple is often confused with Sugar Maple. Sugar Maple is most easily identified by clear sap in the petiole (Norway Maple has white sap). Norway Maple often has a simple yellow autumn colour, although orange-red is not uncommon in some areas. Sugar Maple usually has a brighter orange autumn colour. The bark of Sugar Maple is more shaggy on older trees (Norway Maple bark has small grooves). Also, the leaf lobes of Norway Maple have a more triangular shape, in contrast to the squarish lobes of the Sugar Maple. The seeds of Sugar Maple are globose, while Norway Maple seeds are flattened.

[edit] Cultivation and uses

Many cultivars have been selected, with distinctive leaf shape or coloration such as the deep red of 'Crimson King', the variegated leaves of 'Emerald Queen', and the deeply divided, feathery leaves of 'Dissectum'.

The wood of the Norway Maple is used for furniture, flooring and musical instruments. Stradivarius used Norway Maple for the backs of his noted violins. The wood of the Norway Maple is also manufactured into toilet paper.

It has been widely introduced into cultivation in other areas, including western Europe northwest of its native range. It grows north of the Arctic Circle at Tromsø, Norway. In North America, it is grown as a street and shade tree. It is favoured due to its tolerance of poor, compacted soils and urban pollution. As a result of these characteristics, the Norway maple is displacing native hardwoods such as oak in some parts of North America and is widely considered invasive (and has been officially classified as such by United States authorities in Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New England, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin). In Canada, it is invasive in southern Ontario and southern British Columbia. Norway Maple itself is threatened in a few areas by the Asian long-horned beetle, which eats through the trunk of trees, often killing them.