ACER 



103 



weeping ; carnea, flesh-colored flowers ; humilis, very low shrub 2 to 4 

 feet high; atrosangufnea, dark red flowers; variegt'ita, blotched leaves; 

 etc. [Seeds ; layers ; root cuttings. ] 



Acer. The Maples are generally among the tallest and most useful of 

 trees but a few of them are only shrubby in growth. The opposite pal- 



mately lobed simple deciduous 



leaves are almost universal in the 



^ ^^ ' „„.,, genus, but the 2-winged fruit is a 



Fig. 109. —Round-leaved Maple. 



Fig. 110. — Tartarian Maple. 



better test, because there are no exceptions to this characteristic. Ash- 

 leaved MA.PLE (102) or Box ' Elder ' — Acer Negundo — has compound 

 leaves and is generally a small tree but is sometimes shrubby with smooth 

 dark green bark on the twigs. 



The shrubby maples wild in America and often cultivated are : Moun- 

 tain Maple (103) — Acer spicc^tum — with 3-lobed coarsely serrated 

 leaves and dense upright clusters of flowers (June) and fruit; and 

 Striped Maple (104) — Acer pennsylvanicum — with greenish white- 

 striped bark. The leaves of the striped maple are large, 6 to 8 inches 

 long, with 3 finely serrated lobes. The flower-clusters are drooping, in 

 spring. The best, most varied and beautiful of the shrubby maples are 

 those of China and Japan. ■ [Layers ; twig cuttings ; seeds.] 



