Acer cappadocicum

taxobox
name = "Acer cappadocicum"

---

image_caption = Cappadocian Maple leaves
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Sapindales
familia = Sapindaceae
genus = "Acer"
species = "A. cappadocicum"
binomial = "Acer cappadocicum"
binomial_authority = Gled.|

"Acer cappadocicum" (Cappadocian Maple) is a maple native to Asia, from central Turkey (ancient Cappadocia) east along the Caucasus, the Himalaya, to southwestern China.Mitchell, A. F. (1974). "A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe". Collins ISBN 0-00-212035-6] Mitchell, A. F. (1982). "The Trees of Britain and Northern Europe". Collins ISBN 0-00-219037-0] Bean, W. J. (1976). "Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles" 8th ed., vol. 1. John Murray ISBN 0-7195-1790-7.] Huxley, A., ed. (1992). "New RHS Dictionary of Gardening". Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.] Rushforth, K. (1999). "Trees of Britain and Europe". Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.]

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 in mature.

There are three varieties, sometimes treated as subspecies:
*"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. The eastern Asian species "Acer amplum", "Acer mono", and "Acer truncatum" are also very closely related, and often confused with "A. cappadocicum" in cultivation.

Cultivation and uses

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. The hybrid maple "Acer × zoeschense" shares this character and probably has "Acer cappadocicum" as one of its parents. Cultivars exist with foliage tinged red and yellow.

References