ACER

SPECIMEN SIZED VARIETIES OF ACER PALMATUM ARE IN 7.5 OR 10 LITRE POTS AND ARE ALL APPROXIMATELY 4-6 FEET IN HEIGHT.

SPECIMEN SIZED VARIETIES OF ACER PALMATUM DISSECTUM ARE SMALLER GROWING AND THEREFORE CONSIDERABLY SMALLER IN SIZE ALTHOUGH OF A SIMILAR AGE.

 Genus of 120 species of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, from woodlands mainly, in Europe, northern Africa, Asia and North and Central America.

Some form large trees and others are understorey plants. The most popular decorative forms are from the palmatum group, Japanese maples which have been cultivated in Japan for centuries and is a well-known temple tree and bonsai subject . They have appeared in art forms for centuries.

Palmatum (hand-like) was the name given by Swedish doctor-botanist Carl Peter Thunberg late in the 18th century, following the ancient Japanese where they were likened to hands of frogs or hands of babies.

The UK representative is the field maple, A. campestre, a medium-sized tree favouring chalk soils but widely planted. It is a wildlife plant attractive to aphids which are preyed on by ladybirds, hoverflies and birds. Caterpillars eat the leaves and the nectar and pollen in the flowers attract insects as well.

The wood has the highest density of all the European maples and is used for veneers and harps.