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- Acer platanoides
Acer platanoides — Norway maple
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New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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Facts
The leaves of Norway maple closely resemble those of sugar maple, but the petioles exude a white sap when broken. The gray bark has even grooves. First introduced by the famous Pennsylvania botanist, John Bartram, in 1756, this species is very popular as a hardy street tree. However, it has readily spread through New England forests and is now regarded as an invasive species, capable of shading out native trees.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Growth form
- the plant is a tree
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 100–150 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 100–180 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- Twig winter color
- brown
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Bundle scar number
- 3
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Leaf scar arrangement
- there are two leaf scars per node on the stem or twig
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
- Terminal bud
- the branch has a terminal bud on it
- Winter bud distribution
- the winter buds are distributed fairly evenly along the twig
- Winter bud scale hairs
- the winter bud scales have no hairs on them
- Winter bud scales
- the winter bud is perulate (partially or completely covered with one or more scales)
- Winter bud shape
- the winter buds are globose (spherical, globe-shaped)
- Winter bud stalks
- the winter buds have no stalks
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
- yellow or green
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence type
- the inflorescence is a corymb (with long lower branches and shorter upper branches, giving it a more or less flat-topped look)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Sepal tip glands
- there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- the sepals are separate from one another
- Stamen number
-
- 10
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- Stamens fused
- the stamens are not fused to one another
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- NA
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
-
- the fruit is a schizocarp (when dry it splits into sections, each holding one or more seeds)
- the fruit is an achene (dry, usually 1-seeded, does not separate or split open at maturity)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- the fruit has one or more wings on it
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is thick and colored
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a tree
-
Leaves
- Hairs on underside of leaf blade
-
- the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
- the underside of the leaf has no hairs
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
- the base of the leaf blade is truncate (ends abruptly in a more or less straight line as though cut off)
- Leaf blade base symmetry
- the leaf blade base is symmetrical
- Leaf blade bloom
- the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- the leaves have teeth only at the tips of the lobes
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
-
- NA
- the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
- Leaf blade length
- 100–150 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is orbicular (roughly circular, as wide as long)
- the leaf blade is triangular, with the stalk or attachment point on one of the sides
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade vein pattern
- the main veins of the leaf blade are palmate (radiate out from the base, like a hand)
- Leaf blade veins
- the leaf blade has three or more main veins running from the base (or near the base) towards the tip
- Leaf blade width
- 100–180 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf stalk shape
- the leaf stalk is not flattened
- Leaf teeth
-
- the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
- Stipules
- there are no stipules on the plant, or they fall off as the leaf expands
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- forests
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are no lenticels on the twigs, or they are very hard to see
- Pith shape
- the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
- Pith type
- the pith inside the twig is solid, completely filled with spongy tissue
- Short shoots
- there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
- Twig bloom
- there is no bloom on the twig
- Twig hairs
- the twigs have few or no hairs on them
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig scales
- there are no scales on the twig surface
- Twig winter color
- brown
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Occurs only in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: UPL)
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present, invasive
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present, invasive, prohibited
- New Hampshire
- present, invasive, prohibited
- Rhode Island
- present, invasive
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- unranked (S-rank: SNR)
Native to North America?
No
Sometimes confused with
- Acer saccharum:
- broken leaf stalks yielding watery sap, flowers with yellow petals, and fruit wings diverging at an angle of 170-180 degrees (vs. A. platanoides, with broken leaf stalks yielding milky sap, flowers without petals, and fruit wings diverging at an angle of 60-120 degrees ).
Synonyms
- Acer platanoides var. schwedleri Nichols.
Family
Genus
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
7. Acer platanoides L. E
Norway maple. Acer platanoides L. var. schwedleri Nichols. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Roadsides, waste areas, forest fragments, areas of habitation.