Vine leaf maple
| Vine leaf maple | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grape leaf maple ( acer circinatum ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Acer circinatum | ||||||||||||
| Pursh |
The vine leaf maple ( Acer circinatum ) is a plant from the genus of maple ( Acer ) in the family of soap tree plants (Sapindaceae).
description
Vegetative characteristics
The vine leaf maple is a deciduous, mostly multi-stemmed shrub or, more rarely, a tree that is up to 8, rarely 12 meters, small . Often it forms dense stands through vegetative reproduction : When the branches touch the ground, they can take root and form subsidence. Runners can also be formed from the roots. Seedlings, on the other hand, are rare. In open, sunny situations it grows upright, in the shade of other trees it is often sloping to prostrate. The thin twigs have a smooth bark that is light green to reddish, often with white frosting and slightly sticky. The bark later turns brown.
The constantly against arranged on the branches leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The petiole is 2.5 to 3.5 inches long. The simple leaf blade is seven to nine lobes, 3 to 12 inches wide and weakly heart-shaped at the base. The leaf margin is irregularly double serrated. The underside of the leaf is hairy over the entire surface and the light green upper side only has hairs ( trichomes ) along the leaf veins . The autumn color of the leaves is golden yellow to bright carmine red when the sun is fully exposed .
Inflorescence and flower
The flowering period extends from April to May. At the end of the branches there are six to ten, rarely up to twenty flowers in a bare inflorescence . The sepals are purple or red. With a width of 0.6 to 1.2 centimeters, the white petals are smaller than the sepals.
fruit
The split fruits that ripen in autumn divide into two winged nut fruits (samara). The pair of nuts sit together at an angle of about 180 °. The nut fruit and the wing are each about 2 inches long. The first green fruits turn reddish-brown in autumn and spread by the wind. The seeds germinate in spring.
Occurrence and ecology
The distribution area is in western North America and extends from southern Canada ( British Columbia ) to northern California . The vine leaf maple is restricted to the moist west side of the Cascade Mountains , it is only rarely found in valleys on the drier east side. In the north of the distribution area it does not rise above altitudes of 1000 meters, in the south it can be found up to altitudes of 1600 meters.
It grows in closed forests, on the edge of the forest and on initial fire-related stages. The soils are deep, well-drained, but still moist due to the high rainfall. Associated it is with the local forests dominant high conifers: Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ), Western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla ), giant arborvitae ( Thuja plicata ), Lawson ( Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ), Sitka Spruce ( Picea sitchensis ) and purple Fir ( Abies amabilis ). On the east side of the Cascade Mountains, it occurs together with the yellow pine ( Pinus ponderosa ). Other shrubs that grow in the same canopy as the vine leaf maple include green alder ( Alnus viridis ssp. Sinuata ), red elder ( Sambucus racemosa ), Holodiscus discolor , Corylus cornuta , nervous Oregon grape ( Mahonia nervosa ), and Shallon shamrock ( Gaultheria shallon ), Rhododendron macrophyllum , Rubus ursinus and Rosa gymnocarpa . In the herbaceous layer to grow Moosglöckchen ( Linnaea borealis ), Vaccinium ovalifolium , Vaccinium membranaceum , Tiarella trifoliata , Polistichum munitum , bear grass ( Xerophyllum tenax ) Hydrophyllum species, Actaea rubra and Whipplea modesta .
Moose ( Alces alces ) and mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) eat the foliage of the vine-leaf maple, while moose in winter also eat the bark and twigs. The seeds, buds and blossoms are a number of birds and small mammals such as squirrels and chipmunks eaten.
use
The vine leaf maple is occasionally used as an ornamental wood . For this purpose, a few varieties have been selected:
- 'Little Gem' - dwarf form, weak-growing, leaves no more than 2 to 3 centimeters in size.
- 'Monroe' - slit leaves, leaf lobes incised down to the petiole and again divided into pinnate shape.
Locally, the wood is occasionally used as firewood or to make tool handles and handles. The Indians used long, thin branches to weave baskets, snowshoes and fish traps.
Systematics
The vine leaf maple was scientifically described by Frederick Traugott Pursh in 1814 . Within the genus of the maples ( Acer ) it is classified in the Palmata section and there in turn in the Palmata series of the same name . It is the only kind of this section in America; the related species such as the Japanese maple ( Acer japonicum ) or Acer pseudosieboldianum are all native to East Asia.
literature
- Helmut Pirc: Maples . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1994, ISBN 3-8001-6554-6 , pp. 123 .
- Ronald J. Uchytil: Acer circinatum , In: Fire Effects Information System . US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (1989). On-line. (Accessed November 28, 2007)
Web links
- Acer circinatum Pursh , In: Brian Klinkenberg (Editor): E-Flora BC : Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia , 2010. (Section Description)
Individual evidence
- ^ Elbert L. Little (1971): Atlas of United States Trees . Volume 3: Minor Western hardwoods . US Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 1314. Online (Accessed November 28, 2007; PDF; 709 kB)
- ↑ Native American Ethobotany Database, University of Michigan Online ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed September 6, 2007)
- ^ FT Pursh: Flora Americae Septentrionalis . 1: 1814, p. 267. scanned at botanicus.org. (Accessed November 29, 2007)
