Norway maple Acer platanoides

Features

Norway maples are not typically cultivated for maple syrup production due to the lower sugar content of the sap compared to sugar maple.

Species	Trees (Macrofanerophytes)
Living space	Bright forest, Deciduous forest, Treeline
Size	10-25 m

Description

Acer platanoides is a deciduous tree, growing to 10-25 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m in diameter, and a broad, rounded crown. The bark is grey-brown and shallowly grooved. Unlike many other maples, mature trees do not tend to develop a shaggy bark. The shoots are green at first, soon becoming pale brown. The winter buds are shiny red-brown. The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with five lobes; the lobes each bear one to three side teeth, and an otherwise smooth margin. The leaf petiole is 8–20 cm long, and secretes a milky juice when broken. The autumn colour is usually yellow, occasionally orange-red. The flowers are in corymbs of 15–30 together, yellow to yellow-green with five sepals and five petals 3–4 mm long; flowering occurs in early spring before the new leaves emerge. The fruit is a double samara with two winged seeds. The seeds are disc-shaped, strongly flattened. The wings are 3–5 cm long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle.