Maple, Field

The Field Maple, is a sturdy broadleaved deciduous tree, that can grow to a height of 20m, and may live for 350 years.

The bark is light brown and flaky, and twigs are slender and brown and develop a corky bark with age. Small, grey leaf buds grow on long stems.

 

Photo supplied by: Alan Payne

Common Name:
Field Maple

Scentific Name:
Acer campestre

Tree No:
112

Location:
I17

Small, dark green and shiny, with five lobes and rounded teeth. They fade to a rich, golden yellow before falling in autumn.

Credit: This could be your image

 

 

The flowers appear to be hermaphrodite, meaning that both male and female reproductive parts are contained within one flower. The flowers are small, yellow-green, cup-shaped and hang in clusters.

Credit: This could be your image

 

After pollination by insects, flowers develop into large, winged fruits which are dispersed by wind.

Credit: This could be your image

The UK’s only native maple, it is found growing in woods, scrub and hedgerows, and on chalk lowland. It is widely planted in gardens and parks due to its compact habit, tolerance of pollution and rich autumn colours.

Field maple is attractive to aphids and their predators, including many species of moth, ladybird, hoverfly and birds. The flowers provide nectar and pollen sources for bees and birds, and small mammals eat the fruits.

Its timber once was highly prized for furniture making and turning, but by the turn of the 19th/20th centuries it had been outclassed.

Field maple produces the hardest, highest-density timber of all European maples. It is a warm, creamy-brown colour with a silky shine. Its wood is also popular for making musical instruments, particularly harps.

Although not one of the traditional coppicing trees, it survives being coppiced in Essex hedgerows.

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