Acer sempervirens

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 sempervirens
Name

Acer sempervirens L., Mant. Pl.: 128 (1767).

Neotypus (designated by Turland, Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Lond. (Bot.) 25(2): 128 (1995)): Omalos, 10 June 1938, Ogilvie-Grant 25 (K)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Acer humile Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 281 (1796).
Acer heterophyllum Willd., Berlin. Baumz.: 10 (1796).
Acer willkommii Wettst., Sitzungsber. Kaiserl. Akad. Wiss., Math.-Naturwiss. Cl., Abt. 1, 48: 384 (1890).
Misapplied names
Acer orientale auct. non L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 13 (1759) = Acer monspessulanum subsp. oksalianum
Acer creticum auct. non L., Sp. Pl., ed. 2 2: 1497. (1763), nom. illeg. = Acer monspessulanum subsp. oksalianum

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Greece, Kriti.
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Western Asia
East Aegean Islands, Turkey.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1767. Mantissa Plantarum. Generum editionis VI. et Specierum editionis II. [1]: 1–142 + index (2 pp.). Holmiae. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Turland, N.J. 1995. Linnaeus's interpretation of Prospero Alpino's De plantis exoticis, with special emphasis on the flora of Crete. Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. London, Bot. 25(2): 127–159. BHL Reference page.
Turland, N.J. 1995. Neotypification of Acer orientale (Aceraceae). Taxon 44(4): 597–600. DOI: 10.2307/1223502 JSTOR Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2021. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Acer sempervirens. Accessed: 11 Jun 2021.
Hassler, M. 2021. Acer sempervirens. 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. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Jun 11. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Acer sempervirens in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Jun 11. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2021. Acer sempervirens. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 11 Jun 2021.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Acer sempervirens. Published online. Accessed: 11 Jun 2021.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Kreta-Ahorn
English: Cretan Maple
français: Érable de Crète
italiano: Acero
polski: Klon wieczniezielony
Türkçe: Doğu akçaağacı

Acer sempervirens, the Cretan maple, is a species of maple native to southern Greece and southern Turkey.[2][3][4]
Cretan maple (Asfendamos), Dikti Mountains, Crete

Acer sempervirens is an evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, one of the very few evergreen species in the genus. It grows to 10 metres (33 ft) tall with a trunk up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in diameter. The bark is dark grey, smooth in young trees, becoming scaly and shallowly fissured in mature trees. The shoots are green at first, becoming dull brown in the second year. The leaves are opposite, hard and leathery in texture, 1–4 centimetres (0.39–1.57 in) long and 1–3 centimetres (0.39–1.18 in) across, glossy dark green with a yellow 1 centimetre (0.39 in) petiole, variably unlobed or three-lobed (often on the same shoot); the lobes have an entire (toothless) margin. The flowers are yellow-green, produced in small pendulous corymbs. The fruit is a double samara with two rounded, winged seeds, the wings 1.5–3 centimetres (0.59–1.18 in) long, spread at an acute angle.[3][5][6]

It is one of the most drought- and heat-tolerant species in the genus, occurring on dry, sunny hillsides at moderate elevations. It is closely related to Acer monspessulanum from further north and west in Europe, differing from it in being a smaller, often shrubby tree, and in its smaller, evergreen leaves.[3]
Cultivation and uses

Cretan maple is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree in western Europe; it was introduced to Britain in 1752.[5]
References

The Plant List, Acer sempervirens L.
Med-Checklist: Acer sempervirens
Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins. ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
Encyclopedia of Life
Mitchell, A. F. (1982). The Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins. ISBN 0-00-219037-0.
Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-47494-5.