146 ACER 



A. LEUCODERME, Small. 



A deciduous tree, usually 20 to 25 feet (sometimes nearly twice as) high, 

 forming a compact, rounded head. Branchlets slender, smooth. Leaves three- 

 or five-lobed, 2 to 3^ ins. long andUvide, the lobes triangular, with usually two 

 large teeth ; the base truncate or slightly heart-shaped ; lower surface covered 

 with whitish velvety down, especially where the five main ribs meet the leaf- 

 stalk, which is smooth. Flowers yellow, produced a few together in a short 

 corymb, each flower on a slender stalk i in. or more long. Fruit hairy, except 

 when ripe ; keys f in. long, diverging at 120. 



Native of the S.E. United States, and sent by Prof. Sargent to Kew in 

 1902, where a young tree 12 ft. high is thriving. It has neither flowered nor 

 fruited in this country. It is an ally of the Sugar Maple, but is found wild 

 farther to the south. 



A. LOBELII, Tenore. LOBEL'S MAPLE. 



A deciduous tree, ultimately 50 to 60 ft. high, whose erect branches give it a 

 narrow columnar form ; young shoots smooth, bluish grey. Leaves palmate, 

 five-lobed, 4 to 7 ins. wide, rather less in length (smaller leaves are often three- 

 lobed) ; heart-shaped or truncate at the base, smooth and dark green above, 

 paler beneath, with tufts of hair in the axils of the veins ; lobes ovate, ending 

 in a long drawn-out point. Flowers in corymbs, yellow. Fruit smooth, with 

 keys i to i j ins. long ; wings \ in. wide, wide-spreading but not quite horizontal. 



Native of S. Italy ; said to have been introduced in 1683. This maple is 

 closely allied to the Norway Maple, and by some authorities is made a variety 

 of it. It has the same inflorescence, fruits, and milky sap in the leaf-stalks. The 

 erect narrow habit, however, at once distinguishes it, the cleft at the base of 

 the leaves is not so deep, and the terminal lobes have not the few large teeth 

 so frequent in the Norway Maple ; the young bark also is markedly striped. 

 It is a handsome, well-marked, and vigorous tree. 



A. MACROPHYLLUM, Pursh. OREGON MAPLE. 



A tree occasionally over 100 ft. high, with a trunk 3 or 4 ft. in diameter. In 

 young trees the branches are erect, but become more spreading in older ones, 

 forming eventually a compact, rounded head. Branchlets smooth. Leaves 

 probably the largest among maples, usually from 6 to 12 ins. across, and cut 

 more than half-way to the base into three or usually five lobes, each one being 

 again cut into large, triangular minor lobes ; upper surface dark lustrous green, 

 lower one paler, with tufts of white hairs in the axils of the veins ; leaf-stalk 

 containing milky sap. Flowers yellow, scented, produced in April on dense 

 pendulous racemes 4 to 6 ins. long, each flower \ in. across. Fruits covered 

 with long, pale brown bristles ; the wings nearly smooth, i| ins. long, \ 

 in. wide, diverging at about 90. 



Native of the coast regions of Western N. America from S. Alaska to 

 California. It was introduced by Douglas for the Horticultural Society in 

 1826 or 1827, but had been discovered by Archibald Menzies more than thirty 

 years before. In many respects it is the noblest of maples, and it thrives well 

 in many parts of the British Isles. Owing to the late growth of young trees 

 during mild autumns, they are apt to be cut back in hard winters ; but other- 

 wise it is absolutely hardy at Kew, where there are several good specimens 

 On young trees the leaves are larger, but not so deeply lobed. It flowers and 

 bears seed in great quantities some seasons, and the keys are very frequently 

 in threes instead of the usual pairs. Owing to their hairiness and the great 

 size of the wings, the fruits are particularly striking. The timber is highly 



