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Field Maple Acer campestre

Other Common Name(s):

Phonetic Spelling
AY-ser kam-PES-tray
Description

Hedge maple is a slow growing shrub or small tree in the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family native to Europe and western Asia. Genus name is the Latin name for a maple tree. Specific epithet means of the fields or open plains. 

Hedge maple has a rounded mature habit reaching 35 feet tall and wide. Considerable pruning is required and why it is given the common name hedge maple. Plant in rich,well-drained acidic soils in full to partial shade. It is easy to transplant due to a shallow root system. Tolerant of dry soils, compaction and air pollution.

The flowers are insignificant and are followed by winged samara. The fall color is yellow but not reliably so.

It is a good street tree that casts dense shade and works well under utility lines because it can be severely pruned. This tree supports pollinators and birds and makes an excellent shade tree for a pollinator garden or a recreational play area.  It can also be pruned into a screening hedge.  It produces many seeds and has the potential to become weedy.

Quick ID Hints:

  • Leaves simple, 3-5 palmately lobed
  • Leaf margin entire
  • Leaves concolorous, pubescent below
  • Petiole milky sap
  • Fruit with horizontal wings

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  Potential insects are various scale pests, aphids, maple worm, cankerworms, gall and beetles. Potential diseases ate Anthracnose, bacterial leaf scorch, verticillium wilt, canker and powdery mildew. See the fact sheets to the left.

VIDEO created by Ryan Contreras for “Landscape Plant Materials I:  Deciduous Hardwoods and Conifers or Landscape Plant Materials II:  Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University

Profile Video:
See this plant in the following landscape:
Collector’s Garden
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Carnival'
    White variegated, blush of pink on new foliage
  • 'Pulverulentum'
  • 'Royal Ruby'
'Carnival', 'Pulverulentum', 'Royal Ruby'
Tags:
#deciduous#shade tree#drought tolerant#slow growing#fall interest#air pollution tolerant#street tree#lawn tree#nighttime garden#children's garden#playground plant#shimmer#screening#pollinator plant#compaction tolerant#larval host plant#urban conditions tolerant#wet soils tolerant#dry soils tolerant#recreational areas#imperial moth#weed#landscape plant sleuths course#hedge#wildlife friendly
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Carnival'
    White variegated, blush of pink on new foliage
  • 'Pulverulentum'
  • 'Royal Ruby'
'Carnival', 'Pulverulentum', 'Royal Ruby'
Tags:
#deciduous#shade tree#drought tolerant#slow growing#fall interest#air pollution tolerant#street tree#lawn tree#nighttime garden#children's garden#playground plant#shimmer#screening#pollinator plant#compaction tolerant#larval host plant#urban conditions tolerant#wet soils tolerant#dry soils tolerant#recreational areas#imperial moth#weed#landscape plant sleuths course#hedge#wildlife friendly
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Acer
    Species:
    campestre
    Family:
    Sapindaceae
    Life Cycle:
    Woody
    Recommended Propagation Strategy:
    Seed
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Europe, Western Asia
    Wildlife Value:
    Members of the genus Acer support Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. Attracts butterflies and birds.
    Play Value:
    Attracts Pollinators
    Shade
    Wildlife Food Source
    Wind Shimmer
    Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
    Tolerate of dry soils and compaction also air pollution tolerant
    Dimensions:
    Height: 25 ft. 0 in. - 35 ft. 0 in.
    Width: 25 ft. 0 in. - 35 ft. 0 in.
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Tree
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Deciduous
    Habit/Form:
    Rounded
    Growth Rate:
    Slow
    Maintenance:
    Low
    Texture:
    Medium
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Soil Texture:
    Clay
    Loam (Silt)
    Sand
    Soil pH:
    Acid (<6.0)
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    Moist
    Occasionally Dry
    Available Space To Plant:
    24-60 feet
    USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
    5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
  • Fruit:
    Fruit Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Display/Harvest Time:
    Fall
    Fruit Type:
    Samara
    Fruit Description:
    A schizocarp of two samaras, wings horizontal, nutlet often pubescent.
  • Flowers:
    Flower Color:
    Green
    Insignificant
    Flower Inflorescence:
    Insignificant
    Flower Bloom Time:
    Spring
    Flower Description:
    Not showy, green, inconspicuous.
  • Leaves:
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Deciduous
    Leaf Color:
    Green
    Leaf Type:
    Simple
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Opposite
    Leaf Margin:
    Lobed
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Length:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Width:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Description:
    2 to 4 in. opposite, simple leaves with 3 to 5 rounded lobes; entire, dull green above, pubescent beneath, 2-4" long; venation palmate; petiole to 4" with milky sap. Sometimes develops yellow to yellow-green fall color late in the season
  • Bark:
    Bark Color:
    Black
    Dark Brown
    Dark Gray
    Light Brown
    Light Gray
    Surface/Attachment:
    Furrowed
    Ridges
    Bark Description:
    Shallow ridges and furrows
  • Stem:
    Stem Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
    Stem Surface:
    Corky Ridges
    Stem Description:
    Glabrous, light brown, lenticels. Older stems with longitudinal corky fissures. terminal imbricate, scales grayish-brown to brownish-black, apex often pubescent & chaffy, lateral smaller, appressed.
  • Landscape:
    Landscape Location:
    Recreational Play Area
    Landscape Theme:
    Butterfly Garden
    Children's Garden
    Nighttime Garden
    Pollinator Garden
    Design Feature:
    Hedge
    Screen/Privacy
    Shade Tree
    Street Tree
    Attracts:
    Butterflies
    Moths
    Pollinators
    Songbirds
    Resistance To Challenges:
    Compaction
    Dry Soil
    Pollution
    Urban Conditions
    Problems:
    Weedy