This is a tough one. When one enters the world of Chinese maples bonjour les dégats as the French say. Since I am not a botanist I have used the latest version of Flora of China http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume11/Aceraceae.pdf where its is named Acer amplum subsp. catalpifolium. Older references, like Maples of the World, has it as Acer longipes ssp. catalpifolium. Now, since de Jong is part of the team in both references, I take he now has changed his mind. Anyway the description found in Flora of China is: Leaf blade ovate or ovate-oblong, 8–20 × 5–9 cm, abaxially glabrous except with tufts of hairs at bases of veins, adaxially glabrous, base rounded or nearly so, undivided with margin entire or occasionally with undeveloped lateral lobes below middle, apex acuminate. Fruit yellowish, glabrous; fruiting pedicel 2–3 mm; nutlets ovoid, compressed; wing including nutlet 5–5.5 × ca. 1.4 cm, wings spreading at erect, obtuse, or acute angles. Fl. Apr, fr. Aug–Oct. Mixed forests, valleys; 500–2000 m. NE Guangxi, N Guizhou, Sichuan. Gomero
I will add that this maple is quite tender and also sensitive to dieback. It is a fast grower but in cultivation seems to loose new growth regularly over winter, perhaps because of insufficient hardening off of the new wood. I fought a losing battle with one for several years. I am currently trying again because it is very attractive, the new leaves in spring have an unusual copper hue and the large green leaves are quite exotic looking. -E
Aug. 18, 2012. In full sun, catalpifolium has thrived this year in spite of adverse conditions: nearly 40 days of constant and often very heavy rain followed by very hot and dry. It has basically only stopped growing a little bit when it had an infestation of aphids. I hope this lush growth will have a chance to ripen, otherwise there will be a lot of die back...
very fast growing in my usda zone first year flowers!!one very hot winter in Italy ,maples have open the buds two week ago,only platanoides sleep again
Very beautiful Alex! Thanks for sharing, I don't have any flowers yet on my plants. An update on my tree shown above in 2012. The growth was heavy and the tree seemed to be doing well; but it was already starting to leaf out during the snow and ice of March 2013. Sadly bark died in a ring at the top of the snow line about 50 cm from the ground and the entire top of the tree was lost. It put out a couple of vigorous whips from the bottom which seem to have made it through the winter (so far so good). I also acquired a seed grown A. amplum ssp catalpifolium which has more acuminate leaves, but is clearly the same species. -E
