Hi, I'm just back from a school trip to Britain, and while leaving Hampton Court, I spotted this maple just outside the main entrance. I had thought of Acer platanoides 'Princeton Gold' (Emery has just posted a photo in another thread) but the leaves seem less cut out than the photos I've seen on Google. The photo itself is not so good, I couldn't climb up the tree and the weather was soooo sunny (I love the English weather when it's like that) that it's a kind of backlight picture. But the yellow colour of the leaves was striking. PS: I reduced the original picture to 50%, but you can still see the ladybird I hadn't spotted when I took the photo ;-) PPS: or is it a maple?... I'm not that sure on second thought.
Acer pseudoplatanus 'Brilliantissimum' or possibly another colored foliage cultivar of that species. A. platanoides produces erect, shorter inflorescences before the leaves - it is currently in flower here. The yellow Norway maple cultivar has been presented as 'Prigo'. For instance, the RHS Horticultural Database lists it as A. platanoides [Princeton Gold] = 'Prigo', the bracketed part being a "selling name" rather than a cultivar name.
'Brilliantissimum' is having a great spring this year.I've seen a few around this week and they're all bright peach coloured,absoutely stunning..wish I had room for one.
Hi Alain, Given the yellow coloring it seems more likely that this is A. pseudoplatanus 'Corstorphinense' or perhaps 'Worley'. 'Brilliantissimum' does get the look in your picture but usually much later in the season. Further it's just starting here, and 'Worley' isn't out at all, hence my first guess is the Haunted Maple, which is one of the earliest of the sycamores, so that the colours would have faded somewhat as in your picture. There's a pic of the leaf in this thread: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=26681. 'Corstorphinense' also flowers prolifically. I'll try and post some more pics of it later. As usual Ron is on the mark as to the flowers, which identify this as a sycamore. Also (thanks Ron) I apparently had it reversed as to the correct cultivar vs. trademark name of 'Prigo' vs "Princeton Gold", I'll edit the other post and fix my database. -E
I'm copying my text from another thread (Princeton Golden maple): Regarding the name, I just asked Douglas Justice about that. It seems in the US and Canada, where @Carriea lives, 'Princeton Gold' is the cultivar name, and it is not a protected variety. Douglas included the link to the patent: It has a US patent (PP6727). See United States Patent: PP06727 That was a more interesting document than I was expecting, am glad I had a look. Douglas figures someone acquired plant breeder's rights (PBR) in Europe.
