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Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)

Common Name: Norway Maple
Scientific Name: Acer platanoides
Other Names:

Leaf: Deciduous, opposite, simple, lobed, star-shaped; 5-7 lobes with sharp-pointed tips; upper surface dark green turns green or yellow in autumn (‘Crimson King’ has deep maroon leaf color); milky sap exudes from cut leaf stalks.
Flower: Small, about 1cm across (larger than that of sugar maple), in clusters; with 5 sepals and 5 petals; greenish-yellow, appear as the leaves unfold.
Fruit: Fruit in winged pairs (maple keys) in clusters; wings spread very wide (almost parallel) with flat seedcase; wind dispersed.
Twig: Twigs thick, smooth, hairless, colored like the buds; smaller branches greenish-brown, with prominent lenticels; bud large, somewhat chubby, blunt with 3-4 pairs of fleshy scales; purplish-green or reddish-purple.
Bark: Dark gray with firm, inersecting (or vertical) ridges; bark patterns not as irregular nor shaggy as that of sugar maple.
Wood: Straight grained, fine and uniform texture; not decay resistant; sapwood colour ranges from almost white to a light golden or reddish brown; heartwood darker reddish brown.

Facts About This Tree:
1. Norway maples are medium sized trees that grow up to 20-30 m tall and 1.0-1.5 m in trunk diameter. Lives up to 150-250 years.
2. Norway maple and sugar maple can be difficult to tell apart. Here are few tips: only norway maples have milky sap when you cut the leaf stalk; bark of norway maple is not as irregular nor shaggy as that of sugar maple; wings of norway maple keys spread very widely (>120 degrees) while that of sugar maple spread about 90 degrees or less; leaves of norway maple has sharp pointy tips while that of sugar maple have blunt tips.
3. Norway maple is native to continental Europe and western Asia, and was introduced to North America in mid to late 1700s. Many cultivars have been developed: Schwedler maple has purplish-red foliage in spring and Crimson King has leaves of a rich maroon color without changing colour in autumn.
4. Norway maples are frequently planted in cities because they can be easily transplanted, grow quickly, can adapt to a wide variety of soils (including slightly alkaline), and can tolerate shade, drought, and coastal conditions. For the same reasons, they can easily invade natural areas in and around cities, and once established, they form a dense canopy that can limit regeneration of native species.

Lat, Long: 43.7840599, -79.5908015
Diameter (DBH): 44.4 cm
Last Year Modified: 2015
Carbon Stored in this Tree: 434.79 kg of C
Equivalent CO2: 1594.08 kg of C

Find more trees in Woodbridge.

Reference
1. Farrar, J. L. 2007. Trees in Canada. ON. Canadian Forest Service.
2. Gilman, E. F., D. G. Watson. 1993. Acer platanodies ‘Crimson King’. USDA Forest Service. Fact Sheet ST-32. retrieved on Sept. 2014 from http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/aceplae.pdf
3. The Wood Database. 2014. Norway Maple. retrieved on Sept. 2014 from http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/norway-maple
4. Photo Credit: Daniel J. Kim; Acer platanoides by Ian Alexander Martin via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/7Vqrv5; acer platanoides bud 06053 by flora cyclam via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/9krn54; Spitz-Ahorn_Blatt_unten_DSC_2451 by Rudolf Schafer via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/bu8kwk; Acer platanoides – maple – lonn by Anja Jonsson via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/eGm7tp; n488_w1150 by Biodiversity Heritage Library via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/abKqHH