Hello, I already noticed that on Acer campestre, but on this self-sown speciment, the "winged" bark on this year's shoots is particularly developed. It's exposed full sun for the whole day, except in late afternoon, and is never watered. I suppose that's why. I noticed the same thing on elms in Catalunya, Spain, not very far from the Frenbch border.
I once collected a campestre from the Ouveze valley that had similar bark; unfortunately it didn't survive the car trip home. But I've since seen several in the wild with the characteristic, all in the south of France. I guess it's not that rare, but interesting anyway! Thanks for the pic.
I've seen similarly well-developed 'wings' on Field Maple twigs in Denmark, but don't recollect seeing any so prominent in Britain.
