Acer distylum
Siebold & Zucc.
(c) Keita Watanabe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Keita Watanabe
(c) David Bygott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by David Bygott
(c) りなべる, some rights reserved (CC BY)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Sap
The sap contains sugar and can be drunk fresh or boiled down into a syrup used as a sweetener on many foods, though the sugar concentration is considerably lower than in sugar maples (A. saccharum). The trunk is tapped in early spring, with the best flow on warm sunny days following a frost; cold-winter areas with continental climates produce the best yields.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
North America,
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.
How to Grow
Of easy cultivation, it prefers a good moist well-drained soil, preferring a sunny position but tolerating some shade. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Chlorosis can sometimes develop as a result of iron deficiency when the plants are grown in alkaline soils, but in general maples are not fussy as to soil pH. Most maples are bad companion plants, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. Plants are usuallu monoecious, but hermaphrodite forms occur.
Propagation: Seed grown in gardens can be relied upon to breed true. Sow as soon as ripe in a cold frame; germination typically occurs the following spring. Stored seed should be pre-soaked for 24 hours, then stratified for 2–4 months at 1–8°C. Germination can be slow. Seed can also be harvested green — fully developed but before drying and germination inhibitors form — and sown immediately for late-winter germination. Seed harvested too early produces very weak or no plants. Prick seedlings into individual pots once large enough to handle and grow on to 20cm or more before planting out permanently. Layering is successful with most species in this genus and takes about 12 months. Take cuttings of young shoots in June or July with 2–3 pairs of leaves plus one pair of buds at the base; remove a thin slice of bark at the base and use a rooting hormone for best results. Rooted cuttings must show new growth during summer before potting, otherwise they are unlikely to survive winter. This species is quite difficult to grow away well from cuttings.
Medicinal Uses
None known.
Other Uses
Leaves packed around apples, root crops, and similar produce help preserve them.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Acer distylum, the lime-leaved maple or linden leaved maple, is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to north Honshu Island of Japan. Its closest relative is Acer nipponicum, with which it is grouped in the Acer section Parviflora. The species is noted for its 10–15 cm (4–6 in) unlobed leaves, the like of which are not found in any other maple species. The bark is grayish, and has a pink cast in young specimens. Acer distylum was first described by Philipp Franz von Siebold and Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini in 1845, and later brought to Europe by Charles Maries in 1879.
References (1)
- Fern, Plants for a future.
