Acer platanoides L.

Norway Maple

A deciduous, rounded tree 15-20 m tall. Leaves like those of the plane tree, palmate, to about 15 cm long, 20 cm wide, 5-lobed with each lobe extending half to one third the depth of the blade with the upper 3 largest, the margins almost parallel and with 2 smaller basal lobes, each lobe with a few prominently pointed teeth, shiny above, vein axils with tufts of hairs below; yellowish orange or scarlet in the autumn. Leaf stalk generally slightly longer than the blade, to 15 cm long, swollen at the base, green, releasing a milky sap when broken. Fruit 4-5 cm long with the wing to 2 cm broad.

Naturalised in the Dandenong Ranges, Vic.

Europe to Caucasus.

Bark rough on mature trees. Leaves like those of the plane, Platanus; lobes with a few pointed teeth on the sides; fruit wings about 5-7 cm long, arranged at a wide angle.

ACT: Yarralumla (Westbourne Woods). VIC: Dandenongs ('Pirianda'); Emerald Lake; Kyneton (Bot. Gds); Leongatha (Moss Vale Park).


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Distribution map

Acer platanoides 'Crimson King'

Purple Norway Maple. Leaves crimson when young but eventually turning to dark purple. Flowering prolifically before the leaves open. Selected Barbier & Co. Nsy, Orleans, France. Int. Gulfstream Nsy Co., Wachapreague, Virginia, usa, and the name trademarked in 1947. Specimens: Vic: Buninyong ('The Gong' Reservoir).

Acer platanoides 'Drummondi'

Broad-crowned, medium-sized tree. Leaves yellow when young, later variegated and with broad creamy white margins. Int. by Messrs Drummond of Stirling, Scotland.

Acer platanoides 'Palmatifidum'

Moderate-sized tree. Leaves dissected to the bases with the lobes overlapping slightly. Syn A. platanoides 'Lorbergii'.

Acer platanoides 'Rubrum'

Bronze Norway Maple. Leaves green, becoming red through the summer. Originated St Petersburg, Russia, mid-19th century.

kingdom Plantae
phylum   Tracheophyta
class    Magnoliopsida
superorder     Rosanae
order      Sapindales
family       Sapindaceae
genus        Acer L.