Acer 671 



at Ealing on May 23, 1882, but never throve, and has been dead for some years. 

 This species is very rare in cultivation. I saw a young tree, about 20 feet high, in 

 1906, at Grignon in France, where it exceeds the sycamore in rate of growth. 



(A. H.) 



ACER RUBRUM, Red Maple 



Acer rubrum^ Linnaeus, Sp. PL 1055 (1753) ; Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. i. 424 (1838) ; Sargent, 



Silva N. Amer. ii. 107, tt. 94, 95 (1892), and Trees N. Amer. 639 (1905). 

 Acer coccineum, Michaux f., Hist. Arb. Am. ii. 203 (1810). 

 Acer sanguineum, Spach. Ann. Sc. Nat. sen 2, ii. 176 (1834). 



A tree attaining in America 120 feet in height and 15 feet in girth; with 

 ascending branches. Bark of young stems smooth and light grey, becoming on old 

 trunks darker, ridged, and separating on the surface into plate-like scales. Young 

 branchlets green or red, slightly pubescent towards the tip. Leaves (Plate 207, 

 Fig. 27) very variable in size, averaging 3 inches long and broad; either five-lobed, 

 with two very small basal lobes, or three-lobed, the middle lobe the longest ; lobes 

 short, triangular, acute or acuminate at the apex ; sinuses very shallow, acute at the 

 base ; base of the leaf truncate, slightly cordate or shortly cuneate ; margin non- 

 ciliate, irregularly toothed, or doubly serrate ; upper surface dark green, glabrous ; 

 lower surface silvery white, scattered pubescent, without axil-tufts ; petioles without 

 milky sap. The leaves turn scarlet or orange in autumn. 



Flowers appearing early in spring before the leaves, in few-flowered, umbel-like 

 clusters encircling the branchlets of the previous year ; dioecious or monoecious ; 

 reddish ; pedicels long ; petals present ; ovary glabrous. Fruit hanging on drooping 

 stalks, ripening in June, and germinating as soon as it falls upon the ground ; keys 

 glabrous, about an inch long, at first convergent, afterwards divergent, brown or 

 reddish in colour. 



The red maple can only be confused with the silver maple, from which it differs 

 in the ascending branches and in the shape of the leaves, which are usually only 

 three-lobed, always have very shallow acute sinuses, and are less cordate (often 

 truncate) at the base than in A. dasycarpum. In winter the twigs are glabrous, 

 reddish ; leaf scars very narrow, three-dotted, opposite pairs not united around the 

 stem. Buds small, shortly stalked, reddish ; external scales, six to eight, fringed 

 with whitish cilia ; lateral buds arising from the twigs at an angle of 45. 



Varieties 



In addition to the typical form, above described, Sargent admits two well- 

 marked varieties, occurring wild in America. 



I. Yds. Drummondii,Sa.rg&nx.. [Acer Drummondii, Hooker and Arnott,y(?r. 

 Bot. i. 200 (1834).) Leaves three-lobed, with short broad lobes, and covered on 



