Acer spicatum

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Acer spicatum
NAS-047 Acer spicatum.png
1819 illustration [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Acer
Section: Acer sect. Spicata
Species:
A. spicatum
Binomial name
Acer spicatum
Lam. 1786
Acer spicatum range map 1.png
Generalized natural range
Synonyms
List
  • Acer dedyleMaxim.
  • Acer montanumW.T.Aiton
  • Acer parviflorumEhrh.
  • Acer pumilumW.Bartram
  • Acer striatumDu Roi

Acer spicatum, the mountain maple, dwarf maple, moose maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to northeastern North America from Saskatchewan to Newfoundland, and south to Pennsylvania. It also grows at high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia. [3]

Contents

Description

Acer spicatum is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 3–8 m (10–25 ft) tall, forming a spreading crown with a short trunk and slender branches. The leaves are opposite and simple, 6–10 cm (2+14–4 in) long and wide, with 3 or 5 shallow broad lobes. They are coarsely and irregularly toothed with a light green hairless surface and a finely hairy underside. The leaves turn brilliant yellow to red in autumn, and are on slender stalks usually longer than the blade. The bark is thin, dull gray-brown, and smooth at first but becoming slightly scaly. The fruit is a paired reddish samara, 2–3 cm (341+14 in) long, maturing in late summer to early autumn. [4]

Distribution and ecology

The tree lives in moist woods in rich, well-drained soils on rocky hillsides and along streams. It also grows on ravines, cliff faces, and forested bogs. It colonizes the understory of hardwood forests. [5]

Mammals such as moose, deer, beavers, and rabbits browse the bark; ruffed grouse eat the buds. [5]

Uses

The sap is a source of sugar and can be boiled to make maple syrup. The bark contains tannins, which are used in tanning leather. Indigenous peoples infused the piths of young twigs to produce treatments for eye irritation and made poultices from boiled root chips. It is also said to be used to relieve stress in humans. [6] The wood has been a popular choice for making musical instruments because of its high strength and durability. [7]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Acer grandidentatum</i> Species of maple

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<i>Acer circinatum</i> Species of maple

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<i>Acer pensylvanicum</i> Species of maple

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<i>Acer leucoderme</i> Species of maple

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<i>Acer ginnala</i> Species of plant

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<i>Acer tataricum</i> Species of tree

Acer tataricum, the Tatar maple or Tatarian maple, is a species of maple widespread across central and southeastern Europe and temperate Asia, from Austria and Turkey east as far as Japan and the Russian Far East. The species is named after the Tatar peoples of southern Russia; the tree's name is similarly commonly also misspelled "Tartar" or "Tartarian" in English.

<i>Acer shirasawanum</i> Species of maple

Acer shirasawanum, the Shirasawa maple or fullmoon maple, is a species of maple native to Japan, on central and southern Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū.

<i>Acer japonicum</i> Species of maple

Acer japonicum, Fullmoon Maple, Downy Japanese-Maple, is a species of maple native to Japan, on Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, and also southern Korea.

<i>Acer capillipes</i> Species of maple

Acer capillipes, is a maple in the same taxonomic section as other snakebark maples such as A. pensylvanicum, A. davidii and A. rufinerve. It is native to mountainous regions in Japan, on central and southern Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku islands, usually growing alongside mountain streams.

<i>Acer monspessulanum</i> Species of maple

Acer monspessulanum, the Montpellier maple, is a species of maple native to the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal in the west, to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel in the east, and north to the Jura Mountains in France and the Eifel in Germany.

<i>Acer rufinerve</i> Species of maple

Acer rufinerve, the grey-budded snake-bark-maple, redvein maple or Honshū maple, is a species of tree in the snakebark maple group, related to Acer capillipes. It is native to mountain forests of Japan, on Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku.

<i>Acer crataegifolium</i> Species of maple

Acer crataegifolium , is a species of maple in the snakebark maple group, native to mountains forests of central and southern Japan, on Honshū, Kyūshū, and Shikoku.

<i>Acer sieboldianum</i> Species of maple

Acer sieboldianum is a species of maple native to Japan and common in the forests of Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū Islands; in the south of the range it is restricted to mountain forests. It is named after Philipp Franz von Siebold.

<i>Acer palmatum</i> Species of maple

Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: danpungnamu, 단풍나무, Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.

References

  1. 1819 illustration. Source The North American sylva, or A description of the forest trees of the United States, Canada and Nova Scotia ... to which is added a description of the most useful of the European forest trees ... Translated from the French of F. Andrew Michaux.
  2. Crowley, D.; Rivers, M.C. (2018). "Acer spicatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T193872A2287797. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T193872A2287797.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. "Acer spicatum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  4. Rook, Earl J.S. (2002). "Moose Maple, Acer spicatum". Shrubs of the Northwoods. Archived from the original on November 27, 2005.
  5. 1 2 Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 581. ISBN   0-394-50760-6.
  6. "Acer spicatum". Plants for a Future .
  7. "Fox Products - Fox Model 920".

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