Acer pensylvanicum

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
Species: Acer pensylvanicum
Name

Acer pensylvanicum L., Sp. Pl.: 1055 (1753).
Synonyms

Heterotypic
Acer canadense Duhamel, Traité Arbr. Arbust.: 1 (1755).
Acer tricuspifolium Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. 2: 370 (1812).

References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 1055. Reference page.

Additional references

Gelderen, D.M. van, Jong, P.C.de & Oterdoom, H.J. 1994. Maples of the world. Timber Press, Portland, Or., 458 pp. ISBN 0-88192-000-2. Reference page.
Govaerts, R.H.A. 1995. World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2). 483, 529 pp. MIM, Deurne. ISBN 90-341-0852-X (issue 1) ISBN 90-341-0853-8 (issue 2). Reference page.
Jones, R.L. 2005. Plant life of Kentucky. An illustrated guide to the vascular flora. 833 pp. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2331-3. JSTOR Paywall. Reference page.
Chester, E.W., Wofford, B.E., Shaw, J.T., Estes, D. & Webb, D.H. (eds.) 2015. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee. 813 pp., University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. ISBN 978-1-62190-100-6. Reference page.

Links

Barstow, M. & Crowley, D. 2017. Acer pensylvanicum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T193849A2285894.en.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Acer pensylvanicum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 January 4. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Acer pensylvanicum. Published online. Accessed: 4 January 2020.

Vernacular names
dansk: Stribet Løn
Deutsch: Streifen-Ahorn
English: Striped Maple
eesti: Pensilvaania vaher
suomi: Pennsylvanianvaahtera
français: Érable de Pennsylvanie
polski: Klon pensylwański

Acer pensylvanicum, known as the striped maple, moosewood, moose maple or goosefoot maple, is a small North American species of maple. The striped maple is a sequential hermaphrodite, meaning that it can change its sex throughout its lifetime.

Description

The striped maple is a small deciduous tree growing to 5–10 meters (16–33 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter.[3] The shape of the tree is broadly columnar, with a short, forked trunk that divides into arching branches which create an uneven, flat-topped crown.

The young bark is striped with green and white, and when a little older, brown.[3]

The leaves are broad and soft, 8–15 cm (3–6 in) long and 6–12 cm (2.5–4.5 in) broad, with three shallow forward-pointing lobes.[3]

The fruit is a samara; the seeds are about 27 mm (1.1 in) long and 11 mm (0.43 in) broad, with a wing angle of 145° and a conspicuously veined pedicel.[3][4][5]

The bloom period for Acer pensylvanicum is around late spring.[6]

The spelling pensylvanicum is the one originally used by Linnaeus.
Distribution

The natural range of the striped maple extends from Nova Scotia and the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, west to southern Ontario, Michigan, and Saskatchewan; south to northeastern Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and along the Appalachian Mountains as far south as northern Georgia.[7][8]
Ecology
Striped maple growing at the edge of a forest with pine and hickory in the background (Zena, New York)

Moosewood is an understory tree of cool, moist forests, often preferring slopes. It is among the most shade-tolerant of deciduous trees, capable of germinating and persisting for years as a small understory shrub, then growing rapidly to its full height when a gap opens up. However, it does not grow high enough to become a canopy tree, and once the gap above it closes through succession, it responds by flowering and fruiting profusely, and to some degree spreading by vegetative reproduction.[9][10]

Mammals such as moose, deer, beavers, and rabbits eat the bark, particularly during the winter.[11]
References

Barstow, M.; Crowley, D. (2017). "Acer pensylvanicum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T193849A2285894. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T193849A2285894.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
The Plant List, Acer pensylvanicum L.
Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Carolina Nature
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas
"Conservation Plant Characteristics for ScientificName (CommonName) | USDA PLANTS". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
"Striped Maple". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Hibbs, D. E; B. C. Fischer (1979). "Sexual and Vegetative Reproduction of Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.)". Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. 106 (3): 222–227. doi:10.2307/2484558. JSTOR 2484558.
Hibbs, D. E.; Wilson, B. F.; Fischer, B. C. (1980). "Habitat Requirements and Growth of Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.)". Ecology. 61 (3): 490–496. doi:10.2307/1937413. JSTOR 1937413.
Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 575. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.