Acer tataricum

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 tataricum
Subspecies: A. t. subsp. semenovii – A. t. subsp. tataricum
Subspecies (disputed): A. t. subsp. aidzuense – A. t. subsp. ginnala – A. t. subsp. theiferum
Name

Acer tataricum L., Sp. Pl.: 1054. 1753.
Note: Hassler (2020) treats Acer ginnala as a subspecies, while the Euro+Med Plantbase treats it as a species. Govaerts (2020) does not inform on its status (and does not include it in the A. tataricum treatment & map). Many others also treat it as a distinct species (including infrataxa aidzuense and theiferum) given the major range disjunction (c.3,000 km) and substantial differences in leaf shape.
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 1054. Reference page.
Euro+Med 2006 onwards: Acer tataricum in Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Jan 26.
Hassler, M. 2020. Acer tataricum. 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. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Jan. 8. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Acer tataricum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Jan. 8. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Acer tataricum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
беларуская: Чарнаклён
čeština: javor tatarský
Deutsch: Tatarischer Steppen-Ahorn
English: Tartar Maple
suomi: Tataarivaahtera
français: Érable de Tartarie
italiano: Acero
latviešu: Tatārijas kļava
norsk bokmål: Tatarlønn
norsk: Tatarlønn
română: Arţar tătărăsc
русский: Клён татарский
svenska: Rysk lönn
Türkçe: Tatar akçaağacı

Acer tataricum, the Tatar maple or Tatarian maple, is a species of maple widespread across central and southeastern Europe and temperate Asia, from Austria and Turkey east as far as Japan and the Russian Far East. The species is named after the Tatar peoples of southern Russia; the tree's name is similarly commonly also misspelled "Tartar" or "Tartarian" in English.[3][4]

Description
Acer tataricum.jpg
Foliage

Acer tataricum is a deciduous spreading shrub or small tree growing to 4–12 metres (13–39 ft) tall, with a short trunk up to 20–50 centimetres (7.9–19.7 in) diameter and slender branches. The bark is thin, pale brown, and smooth at first but becoming shallowly fissured on old plants. The leaves are opposite and simple, broadly ovate, 4.5–10 centimetres (1.8–3.9 in) long and 3–7 centimetres (1.2–2.8 in) broad, unlobed or with three or five shallow lobes, and matte green above; the leaf margin is coarsely and irregularly toothed; the leaf petiole is slender, often pink-tinged, 2–5 centimetres (0.79–1.97 in) long. The flowers are whitish-green, 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in) diameter, produced in spreading panicles in spring as the leaves open. The fruit is a paired reddish samara, 10–12 millimetres (0.39–0.47 in) long with a 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.18 in) wing, maturing in late summer to early autumn.[3][4][5]
Taxonomy

Subspecies

subspecies accepted by the Plant List maintained by Kew Gardens in London.[5][6]

Acer tataricum subsp. aidzuense (Franch.) P.C.DeJong
Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala (Maxim.) Wesm. Japan, Korea, Mongolia, eastern Russia, northeastern and central China
Acer tataricum subsp. semenovii (Regel & Herder) A.E.Murray - Tibet, Afghanistan, southern Russia, Iran
Acer tataricum subsp. tataricum - Caucasus, Turkey, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine
Acer tataricum subsp. theiferum (W.P.Fang) Y.S.Chen & P.C.de Jong - China

Acer tataricum is related to Acer ginnala (Amur maple) from northeastern Asia; this is treated as a subspecies of Tatar maple (Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala) by some botanists but not by others. They differ conspicuously in the glossy, deeply lobed leaves of A. ginnala, compared to the matte, unlobed or only shallowly lobed leaves of A. tataricum.[3]

Cultivation and uses

Tatar maple is occasionally grown as an ornamental plant in gardens throughout Europe and also in North America. In Russia, it is valued in farmland shelterbelts.[4] It is locally naturalised in eastern North America.[3][7]
References

"Tatar Maple, Acer tataricum". IUCN Red List. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
The Plant List, Acer tataricum L.
Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-220013-4.
Ecosystema: Acer tataricum (in Russian; google translation)
Flora of China, Acer tataricum Linnaeus, 1753. 鞑靼槭 da da qi
"Acer tataricum L. — The Plant List".
"Acer tataricum". USDA Plant Profile. Retrieved October 9, 2007.