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The Montpelier maple. Acer monspessulanum, Linn., is a very branchy, not very 

 tall tree with reddish hark. The leaves are small, opposite, divided into three pointed 

 lobes and are most often entire. The flowers are clustered, numerous and not very 

 decorative. The capsules have two straight wings that are not very far apart. 



FLOWERS: in May. 



RANGE: the south of France. 



The Italian maple, Acer opulifolium, Villars, is a tree fifteen to twenty feet high 

 with brown bark. Its wood is yellowish and veined when dry. The leaves are divided into 

 three or five not very deeply indented lobes that are rounded and edged with blunt teeth. 

 The flowers are pendent and are borne on long peduncles. The fruit has two wings that 

 are almost parallel. 



FLOWERS: in April and May. 



RANGE: the vicinity of Grenoble, the les Baux regions in Dauphine, where it's 

 known as ayart. 



USES. Maples are cultivated for the beauty and elegance of their foliage and for 

 the benefit of their wood. The common maple has fine-grained wood. It's in demand by 

 cabinet-makers and by lathe workers. The sycamore maple provides excellent wood for 

 heating; it's white in color, marbled, and can be beautifully polished. It's used in several 

 kinds of cabinetry and carpentry work. Sycamores are planted in rows and in groves. The 

 striped maple makes a picturesque sight in large parks with its veined bark of green and 

 white. Its wood is hard, white, and brittle. The ash-leaved maple reaches its maximum 

 height in fifteen or twenty years. Its wood is saffron-colored with a light purple tint. M. 

 de Cubieres reports that the English make tables for instruments out of it. It can be used 

 successfully for different kinds of marquetry, paneling, wainscoting, etc. The Montpelier 

 maple is cultivated for decorating groves. Its trunk sometimes grows very big. The leaves 

 fall only at the beginning of winter, and the fruit is tinged with a beautiful purple color 

 before it matures. 



