Jump to content

Page:TheTreesOfGreatBritainAndIreland vol03B.djvu/325

From Wikisource
This page needs to be proofread.
Acer
639

ovate, with obtusely tipped acuminate apex, and one or two pairs of coarse teeth; upper surface dark-green, shining, with scattered pubescence densest on the nerves; lower surface pubescent, dense on the nerves, and forming axil-tufts; petioles and young branchlets pubescent.

A tree, 30 feet high, remarkable for the stinging hairs on the fruit-carpels. Introduced by Maries in 1881, and about 20 feet high at Coombe Wood.
45. Acer villosum, Wallich. North-Western Himalayas.
Leaves about 8 inches long and wide; lobes broadly ovate, caudate-acuminate, with a few crenate teeth; pubescent on the primary nerves above; lower surface, petioles, and young branchlets densely pubescent.
A large tree in its native home. A specimen, the only one seen in cultivation, at Grayswood, Haslemere, remains shrubby.

VIII. Leaves simple; lobes more than five, sharply bi-serrate; petiole without latex.

* Petioles glabrous.

46. Acer palmatum, Thunberg. Japan, Central China.
Leaves about 3 inches in length and breadth; lobes usually seven, occasionally five, long acuminate; sinuses extending half the length of the blade or to near the base; glabrous on both surfaces, except for minute axil-tufts of pubescence beneath. Young branchlets glabrous.
A tree, rarely attaining 50 feet in height. The type was introduced[1] in 1820, and in cultivation is a small tree, occasionally 25 feet high, with numerous small branches and extremely dense foliage. A very large number of horticultural varieties[2] have been produced in Japan, which are highly valued on account of the varied shape and colour of their leaves, and are commonly cultivated in Europe.
47. Acer circinatum, Pursh. British Columbia to California.
Leaves (Plate 205, Fig. 5) about 4 inches long and broad; lobes seven to nine, acute; sinuses reaching about one-third the length of the blade; scattered pubescent on both surfaces at first, ultimately glabrous except for minute traces of pubescence at the base on both sides. Young branchlets glabrous.
A shrub or small tree, rarely 4o feet high. Introduced in 1826, perfectly hardy, and producing fruit freely.

** Petioles, with dense white long pubescence in spring, more or less persistent till autumn.

48. Acer japonicum, Thunberg. Japan.
Leaves about 4 inches long and broad; lobes usually nine, acuminate; sinuses reaching one-third the length of the blade; both surfaces scattered pubescent, with a tuft at the junction of the blade and petiole above, and axil-tufts beneath. Young branches glabrous.
A small tree, attaining about 20 feet in height. Several varieties are
  1. Loudon, Encycl. Trees, 90. The largest specimen which we have seen is at Waterer's Nursery, Knaphill, Woking.
  2. Cf. J.H. Veitch, Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xxix. 338 (1904).