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.
Oak woods · Uplands · Streams and ditches · Scrubland
Also known ascommon maple, hedge maple
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.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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