Field maple
Acer campestre
Family · Sapindaceae · Harmless
The maple of cool woods and hedgerows of the centre and north, its leaf with five rounded lobes and white milk in the stalk when pulled. It yellows spectacularly in November.
Where it grows
Oak woods · Uplands · Streams and ditches · Scrubland
Also known ascommon maple, hedge maple
In flower
In fruit
How to tell it
Opposite five-lobed leaves with rounded, not pointed, lobe tips. Breaking the leaf stalk releases a drop of white latex, which is unusual in a tree and confirms the species. Fruits with the two wings almost in a straight line, one to each side.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
Pale, hard wood much valued in joinery and musical instruments. It was a hedgerow tree all over Europe, planted to mark property boundaries. No food use.