Acer ginnala

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Sapindales

Familia: Sapindaceae
Subfamilia: Hippocastanoideae
Tribus: Acereae
Genus: Acer
Section: Acer sect. Ginnala
Species: Acer ginnala
Varietas: A. g. var. aidzuense – A. g. var. ginnala – A. g. var. theiferum
Name

Acer ginnala Maxim.
Synonymy

Acer tataricum L. subsp. ginnala (Maxim.) Wesm., Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 29: 31 1890.

References

Maximowicz, C.J. 1857.Bulletin de la Class Physico-Mathematique de l'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg 15: 126.
Euro+Med 2006 onwards: Acer ginnala in Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Jan 21.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Acer ginnala in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Apr. 2. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Acer ginnala. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Apr. 2. Reference page.
Mitchell, A. F. 1974. Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe [p.338]. Collins.
Rushforth, K. 1999. Trees of Britain and Europe [p.431]. Collins.

Note:

Often treated as a subspecies of Acer tataricum (Govaerts & Hassler, 2022), but separated from that species by a 3,000 km range gap, and readily distinguished by morphology, with distinctly 3-lobed leaves glossy above [unlobed or barely lobed, matt above, in A. tataricum] (Mitchell, 1974; Rushforth, 1999).

Vernacular names
azərbaycanca: Qinnal ağcaqayını
dansk: Ild-Løn
Deutsch: Feuer-Ahorn
English: Amur Maple
español: Arce de Manchuria
suomi: Mongolianvaahtera
français: Érable de l'Amour
magyar: Tűzvörös juhar
日本語: カラコギカエデ
한국어: 신나무
latviešu: Ginnalas kļava
монгол: Гинналийн агч мод
Nederlands: Amoeresdoorn
norsk nynorsk: Sibirlønn
norsk: Sibirlønn
polski: Klon ginnala
русский: Клён приречный
svenska: Ginnalalönn
中文: 茶条槭

Acer ginnala, the Amur maple, is a plant species with woody stems native to northeastern Asia from easternmost Mongolia east to Korea and Japan, and north to the Russian Far East in the Amur River valley. It is a small maple with deciduous leaves that is sometimes grown as a garden subject or boulevard tree.

Description

Acer ginnala is a deciduous spreading shrub or small tree growing to 3–10 m (9.8–32.8 ft) tall, with a short trunk up to 20–40 cm (8–16 in) diameter and slender branches. The bark is thin, dull gray-brown, and smooth at first but becoming shallowly fissured on old plants. The leaves are opposite and simple, 4–10 cm (1+1⁄2–4 in) long and 3–6 cm (1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) wide, deeply palmately lobed with three or five lobes, of which two small basal lobes (sometimes absent) and three larger apical lobes; the lobes are coarsely and irregularly toothed, and the upper leaf surface glossy. The leaves turn brilliant orange to red in autumn, and are on slender, often pink-tinged, petioles 3–5 cm (1+1⁄4–2 in) long. The flowers are yellow-green, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) diameter, produced in spreading panicles in spring as the leaves open. The fruit is a paired reddish samara, 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long with a 1.5–2 cm (5⁄8–3⁄4 in) wing, maturing in late summer to early autumn.[1]
Taxonomy

Amur maple is closely related to Acer tataricum (Tatar maple), and some botanists treat it as a subspecies A. tataricum subsp. ginnala (Maxim.) Wesm.[2] The glossy, deeply lobed leaves of A. ginnala distinguish it from A. tataricum, which has matte, unlobed or only shallowly lobed leaves.[1]
Cultivation and uses

Acer ginnala is grown as an ornamental plant in northern regions of Europe and North America. It is the most cold-tolerant maple, hardy to zone 2. It is naturalised in parts of North America. Planted on exceptional sites facing south west with consistent moisture and light loamy soils, this tree can grow 3 to 4 feet per year making it a fast grower. It is often planted as a shrub along borders.[3]

In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[4]

It is also valued in Japan and elsewhere as a species suitable for bonsai.

It is a nonnative invasive species in parts of northern America.[5]
Cultivars

Due to its vigor and fall colors of yellows and bright reds, the size being a small tree of 6 metres (20 feet) wide by 6 m tall on average, it suits many for smaller landscapes and for planting under power lines. Cultivars have emerged for those wanting these attributes.

Flame (Fiery red autumn foliage, very strong vigor)

References

Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins. ISBN 0-00-220013-9..
"Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Acer ginnala". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
"Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala". rhs.org.uk.

Randall, John; Marinelli, Janet. The Encyclopedia of Intrusive Plants. Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Xu, Tingzhi; Chen, Yousheng; de Jong, Piet C.; Oterdoom, Herman John; Chang, Chin-Sung. "Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala". Flora of China. Vol. 11 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.