Native Trees of the Village of Euxton

The Field Maple

Field Maple - Acer campestre, also known as the Common Maple, and is of the family - Aceraceae. 

In related species it is close to the sycamore, a native of Central Europe which is now very widely distributed in the British Isles.

The sycamore is believed to have been introduced pre 600 AD and is distinguished by red stems of leaves and angled pair of helicopter seeds rather than in line.  The Norway Maples (Acer platanoides) is another common introduced species.

The Field Maple is a small deciduous tree about 15 m in height, with small yellow green flowers.  It grows well first 20-25 years and is mature at about 50 years and can live up to 100 years with a maximum height of about 25m.   In autumn the leaves are yellow, but can also be red or a golden brown.

Its typical habitat is heavy soils on the edges of woods, is found in hedgerows, and is associated with ash, hazel and oak.

Its natural native distribution is though out the British isles but not Scotland or Ireland.  It is found throughout mainland Europe except Greece, Norway and Sweden, and Northern Russia.

It is readily propagation and grown from seed, which is deeply dormant and natural germination typically takes 18 months.

Its timber is a pale brown wood, soft and fine grained, but rarely produces timber sized trees.  It is used for turnery, and craft work (used in middle ages for musical instruments).   It has some uses as a firewood.


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