Acer campestre – Field Maple

 The Field Maple is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a rounded crown and twisted bole. Its appearance can be variable depending on its surroundings. Its bark is grey/brown and fissured with a slightly cork-like texture. Its branches are dense, sometimes almost impenetrable when cut and pruned regularly. Field maple leaves are up to 12cm long and usually strongly 3 lobed, these lobes themselves often have lobed margins and tufts of hair in the underside vein axis.  They are dark green and quite leathery, turning bright yellow and then reddish brown in autumn. It produces small yellow/green flowers in small clusters with 5 sepals and 5 petals. It also produces winged fruits in bunches of 4, these wings are horizontal and usually green with a variable tinge of red. These winged fruits allow the wind to carry them considerable distances thus spreading the seed quite effectively. It is a widespread and common native tree to Northern Europe, including parts of Britain. It thrives in calcareous soils doing particularly well on slopes of chalk downs in the South-East of England. It is seldom found in acidic or waterlogged conditions.