Acer platanoidcs, 



THE PLATANUS-LIKE MAPLE. 



St/nonymes. 



A cer platan aides, 



Erable de Non'^ege, 



Spitz- Ahorn, Spitzblattriger Ahnrn, 



Acero riccio, Sicomoro lalso, Platano di 



Norvegia, 

 Norway Maple, 



'LiNNJEUs, Species Planlarum. 

 De Candoli.e, Prodromus. 

 MicHAux, North American Sylva. 

 Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 

 Selby, British Forest Trees. 

 France. 

 Germany. 



Italy. 



Britain and Anglo-America. 



Derivations. The specific name is derived from the Latin platanus, a plane-tree, and the Greek eidos, form, from the 

 resemblance which the leaves of this tree bear to those of the Platanus orienlalis. 



Engravings. IMichaux, North American Sylva, pi. 44; Selby, British Forest Trees, pp. 23et26; Loudon, Arboretum Bri- 

 tannicum, i., figures 119, pp. 442 et 443; el v. pi. 29; and the figures below. 



Specific Characters. Leaves cordate, smooth, 5-lobed. Lobes acuminated, with a few coarse, acute teeth. 

 Corymbs stalked, erectish, and, as well as the fruit, smooth ; fruit with divaricated wings. Dvn, Mil- 

 ler's Diet. 



Desci'iption. 



^HE Acer platanoides 

 h i-i [^ is a handsome tree, of 

 [J {^ the first rank. Its 

 ^^5^1^ general appearance, at 

 a distance, is Hke the Acer pseudo-platanus, but 

 on a nearer approach, the leaves are found of a 

 smoother and finer texture. The trunk is some- 

 what shorter than that of the sycamore, and the 

 tree seldom exceeds sixty or seventy feet in 

 height. * The roots extend considerably, both 

 laterally and downwards. The bark is green on 

 the young shoots, but it afterwards becomes of a 

 reddish-brown, dotted with white spots ; that of 

 the trunk is brown, and somewhat cracked. 

 The buds are large and red in autumn, becoming 

 of a still darker hue in the course of the winter ; 

 those on the points of the shoots are always the 

 largest. The leaves are thin, green on both 

 sides, and shining. In an early or half-expanded 



state, they are of a delicate yellowish-green, and in autumn, before they fall, 

 become of a clear red, or of a rich, warm yellow. They fall, in England, about 

 the end of October. When the petiole is broken, an acrid, milky sap issues from 

 it, which coagulates on being exposed to the air. The leaves are about five 

 inches long, and nearly of the same width. The petioles are longer than the 

 leaves. The flowers appear just before the leaves, near the end of April, and 

 form a short raceme, somewhat corymbose. They are yellowish-green, sweet- 

 scented, and eagerly sought after by bees, to which they afford an early, and at 

 the same time, a valuable pasture. The fruit or keys have their wings yellow. 



