Acer cappadocicum

Acer cappadocicum, the Cappadocian maple, is a maple native to Asia, from central Turkey (ancient Cappadocia) east along the Caucasus, the Himalaya, to southwestern China.[1][2][3][4][5]

Acer cappadocicum
Cappadocian maple leaves
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Acer
Section: Acer sect. Platanoidea
Species:
A. cappadocicum
Binomial name
Acer cappadocicum
Gled. 1785

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 20–30 m tall with a broad, rounded crown. The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with 5-7 lobes, 6–15 cm across. The leaf stems bleed a milky latex when broken. The flowers are in corymbs of 15-30 together, yellow-green with five petals 3–4 mm long; flowering occurs in early spring. The fruit is a double samara with two winged seeds, the seeds are disc-shaped, strongly flattened, 6–11 mm across and 2–3 mm thick. The wings are 2.5–3 cm long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle. The bark is greenish-grey, smooth in young trees, becoming shallowly grooved when mature.[1][2][4][5]

There are three varieties, sometimes treated as subspecies:[3][4]

  • Acer cappadocicum var. cappadocicum. Turkey, Caucasus, northern Iran.
  • Acer cappadocicum var. indicum (Pax) Rehd. (syn. var. cultratum (Wall.) Bean). Himalaya.
  • Acer cappadocicum var. sinicum Rehd. Southwestern China.

The closely related Acer lobelii from southern Italy is also treated as a subspecies of A. cappadocicum by some authors.[4] The eastern Asian species Acer amplum, Acer pictum, and Acer truncatum are also very closely related, and often confused with A. cappadocicum in cultivation.[3]

Cultivation and uses
A mature specimen in cultivation in England

Cappadocian maple is grown as an ornamental tree in Europe. Many of the trees in cultivation show a strong tendency to produce numerous root sprouts, a character rare in maples.[1][2] The hybrid maple Acer × zoeschense shares this character and probably has Acer cappadocicum as one of its parents.[2]

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-

  • A. cappadocicum 'Aureum' (with yellow leaves)[6]
  • A. cappadocicum 'Rubrum' (with red leaves)[7]

References
  1. Mitchell, A. F. (1974). A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-212035-6
  2. Mitchell, A. F. (1982). The Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-219037-0
  3. Bean, W. J. (1976). Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles 8th ed., vol. 1. John Murray ISBN 0-7195-1790-7.
  4. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
  5. Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
  6. "Acer cappadocicum 'Aureum'". RHS. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  7. "Acer cappadocicum". RHS. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
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