- Acer ginnala
image_caption = Amur Maple foliage
status = LR/lc
regnum =Plantae
unranked_divisio =Angiosperms
unranked_classis =Eudicots
unranked_ordo =Rosids
ordo =Sapindales
familia =Sapindaceae
genus = "Acer"
species = "A. ginnala"
binomial = "Acer ginnala"
binomial_authority = Maxim.|"Acer ginnala" (Amur Maple) is a plant species with woody stems native to northeastern
Asia from easternmostMongolia east toKorea andJapan , and north to southeasternSiberia in theAmur River valley. It is a smallMaple with deciduous leaves that is sometimes grown as a garden subject or boulvard tree.Flora of China (draft): [http://web.archive.org/web/20060209210809/http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume11/Aceraceae-AGH_coauthoring.htm Aceraceae] ]Description
"Acer ginnala" is a
deciduous spreadingshrub or smalltree growing to 3-10 m tall, with a short trunk up to 20-40 cm diameter and slender branches. Thebark is thin, dull gray-brown, and smooth at first but becoming shallowly fissured on old plants. The leaves are opposite and simple, 4-10 cm long and 3-6 wide, deeply palmately lobed with three or five lobes, of which two small basal lobes (sometimes absent) and three larger apical lobes; the lobes are coarsely and irregularly toothed, and the upper leaf surface glossy. The leaves turn brilliant orange to red inautumn , and are on slender, often pink-tinged, petioles 3-5 cm long. Theflower s are yellow-green, 5-8 mm diameter, produced in spreading panicles in spring as the leaves open. Thefruit is a paired reddish samara, 8-10 mm long with a 1.5-2 cm wing, maturing in latesummer to early autumn.Rushforth, K. (1999). "Trees of Britain and Europe". Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.]Taxonomy
Amur Maple is closely related to "
Acer tataricum " (Tatar Maple), and some botanists treat it as asubspecies "A. tataricum" subsp. "ginnala" (Maxim.) Wesm.) Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?403019 "Acer tataricum" subsp. "ginnala"] ] They differ conspicuously in the glossy, deeply lobed leaves of "A. ginnala", compared to the matt, unlobed or only shallowly lobed leaves of "A. tataricum".Cultivation and uses
"Acer ginnala" is grown as an
ornamental plant in northern regions of Europe and North America, where it is the most cold-tolerant maple, hardy to zone 2. It is naturalised in parts of North America.USDA Plant Profile: [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ACGI "Acer ginnala"] ]It is also valued in Japan and elsewhere as a species suitable for
bonsai .It is a nonnative invasive species in parts of northern America. [ Randall John "The Encyclopedia of Intrusive Plants" Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Janet Marinelli, Brooklyn Botanic]References
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